


I'd Like It Better If I Could Win At It

by Emono



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Alpha on Alpha, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Biting, Daddy Kink, Dirty Talk, Dominance, Flirting, Fluff and Angst, Hormones, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Knot Fondling, Knotting, Knotting Dildos, Light BDSM, Light Dom/sub, M/M, Masturbation, Minor Violence, Non-Consensual Touching, Omega on Omega, Oral Knotting, Out of Order, Pack Dynamics, Panties, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Polyamory Negotiations, Rimming, Scenting, Self Confidence Issues, Slow Build, Subspace, This fic is not as negative or nearly as dark as these tags suggest, Threesome - M/M/M, Underwear Kink, Unwanted Sexual Advances, Voyeurism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-08
Updated: 2016-09-14
Packaged: 2018-02-03 21:45:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 84
Words: 403,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1757769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emono/pseuds/Emono
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Love isn't a battle, it's a process, and that's something everyone has to learn the hard way. Geoff, Michael, and Gavin learn that you shouldn't fight against your heart because it wants what it wants. Ryan drags his courtship out for an embarrassing amount of time because he's a gentlemen, before and after Ray presents as an Omega (his Omega), and Ray finds ways to make Ryan comfortable enough to (maybe) become mates. Jack and Lindsay are there for them all. Dan struggles to find his place in all of this, and after a few rough patches he finds a comfortable spot that makes everyone happy.</p><p>And through all of this, Burnie is suffering through a drastic hormone change. Will he push away and isolate all of his loving friends? Or will he figure out he needs help before he loses everyone forever? Is Joel's unconditional love enough to reign in age-old Alpha breeding instincts?</p><p>(Looking for a kink and smut fix? Look no further!)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Burnie I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Burnie is taking some privileges

**These are posted out of sequence. Don't like that? That's perfectly fine. Check out the[linear link post](http://emono-omae.tumblr.com/post/99261946051/timeline-for-id-like-it-better-if-i-could-win-at-it) here on my blog to see everything in order.**

**Drop a kudos and a comment, and definitely drop a comment if there's something specific from this growing universe you'd like to see.**

* * *

 

Rooster Teeth considered themselves – as a whole – a very progressive thinking office.

 

Michael pressed up close behind Geoff, pouring off more waves of aggression than usual. The older man reached back and touched his Omega's hip in an attempt to soothe a problem he didn't know yet. “This isn't fucking right.”

 

“What isn't?”

 

Michael grabbed his boss by the arm and dragged him out of the break room and down the hall. They stopped in front of one of the under-used storage rooms. “He'd doing it again.”

 

Indeed he was. This was the third time they'd found Burnie backing Gavin into a corner just this week. The English Omega had his hands tangled in a pile of wires on a desk and their former CEO was pressed up behind him, whispering something in the boy's ear they couldn't hear. Gavin was pale and his eyes were glued to the ground. Michael's fingers pointedly dug into his Alpha'sleeve. “We can't keep letting him fuck with him like this.”

 

“It doesn't sit right with me either,” Geoff assured him, “But unless he says something, I can't do anything.”

 

“Bullshit,” the young gamer hissed through his teeth. “You're an Alpha, he's an Alpha, make a fucking challenge or something. I mean, he's _technically_ -”

 

“Being an Alpha-proxy or whatever is totally different than what we have,” Geoff reminded him, not for the first time. “It's what parents are to Omegas. I can't call him out on shit like this unless the Omega _specifically_ ask me to. And I've asked Gavin twice and he hasn't said anything.”

 

“You stupid fucking Alphas and your unspoken social contract shit,” Michael grumbled, watching his best friend squirm uncomfortably. “I hate this.”

 

“Me too,” Geoff agreed. “I'm going to text Gus and tell him to start the podcast.”

 

Neither missed the way Burnie's hand strayed to the Omega's lower back and threatened to slide down.

 

“It's going to take a lot more than that soon,” Michael noted. “He's getting real fucking bold and I don't like it.”

 


	2. Geoff and Michael I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael calls Geoff "Daddy" for the first time

Michael didn't hate Omegas. How the fuck could he hate what he was? It wasn't a bad thing. Omegas were more intuitive, they had a greater sense of smell, and their genes made everything about them soft and pretty. That part was fucking awesome cause who didn't want to look good when they just kind of rolled out of bed? And though he didn't like that an entire class of people had been considered nothing but whores and slaves for a _super fucking long_ time, they'd come a long way and were always ready to launch into a protest wherever justice needed to be served. And stuff. Whatever.

 

What he actually hated were stupid fucking entitled knotheads who took advantage of their biological differences to Omegas. The ones who told him to quieter, be more submissive, be everything he wasn't because it wasn't how his class was supposed to act. He knew he went against the stereotype really hard with his loud mouth and rough attitude but it kept the worst of the offenders away. Not every Omega could stand up to Alphas like he could and that drove him crazy. When he'd arrived in Austin he had rubbed a few of the Alphas in the office the wrong way and it had taken a few months for them to get over his abrasiveness. All except one.

 

Geoff had called him 'refreshing', and after a few beers on a game night that word had been twisted into 'beautiful'. Michael had fought tooth and nail against the attraction at first. He'd sworn to never take an Alpha because of all the shit they always gave him for not being the picture perfect Omega. But Geoff could never shut up about how much he loved his rage (or what he liked to call 'passion'.) He let him get away with everything from disrespecting him or other Alphas in public to outright flirting with other people. After a while of his boss following him around with hearts in his eyes no matter what, he caved.

 

Unlike other shitty Alphas, Geoff let him have his own stuff in his own apartment. They weren't up each other's asses all the time. They took turns staying at eachother's places, they ate lunch together when they could, and it wasn't unusual to have one hanging out while the other edited. It was a full-storm courtship. He didn't usually go for old-fashioned ideas like that but Geoff had insisted.

 

 _Just in case things get super serious_ , he'd teased at the time. _I want to know I won you fair and square._

 

 _I'm not a fucking prize_. But he'd sure as fuck felt like one. And it wasn't a bad thing either. It fueled a guy's ego to have someone caring about if you'd eaten that day or had enough rest the night before, to have them bring you lunch, to have them smile and comment when you'd spent a few extra minutes on your appearance before you'd left the house.

 

And when they'd started having sex...shit, it had blown his fucking mind.

 

o0o

 

Michael wasn't the classic submissive Omega but when he hit the bedroom – all bets were off.

 

o0o

 

Michael was shoved face down over the bed with a hand in his curls and the taste of Alpha seed behind his teeth. Geoff pressed up behind him, still clothed even though he'd demanded the younger man strip before he'd sucked him off. It wasn't fair. The rasp of material on his bare flesh drove him crazy. Wet kisses were suckled down his spine until a firm tongue swiped over his slick hole. An embarrassed flush came over his face and colored the tips of his ears. He hadn't wanted to admit it but Geoff knew all the right buttons to push to get him wet. The words had just kind of fallen out of mouth.

 

“Nngh,” Michael whined, thighs trembling under the assault. “D-Don't fucking tease.”

 

Another, firmer swipe threatened to dip inside.

 

“Please, _D-Daddy_ , please.”

 

The moment he said it a cold wash of regret filled his stomach. He felt the Alpha give pause before those fingers tightened further until his head was forced back.

 

“Is that what you want me to be, boy?” Geoff's beard prickled his neck before he nipped him, the sensation making his cock jump. “It would be so easy to be your Alpha and your daddy all wrapped up into one.”

 

The Omega chewed the side of his lip. “You're not freaked out or anything?”

 

“Quite the contrary.” He could feel the heavy bulge of the Alpha's cock rubbing up against the curve of his ass. “I can take care of you so well, Michael, I can. Only if you'll let me.”

 

“J-Just in bed, right?” Michael stuttered.

 

“Of course.” Geoff's grin curved against his throat before the blunt fingers swiped over his hole, the touch making him cry out. “Unless you act up at work. Then I might spank you over your desk.”

 

And that was the end of the beginning and the start of the rest of their lives because there was no fucking way either of them was going to find someone else as cool with their shit as they were with each other's.

 


	3. Geoff and Michael II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Geoff is a Pack Alpha, he really is.

Geoff was a natural Pack Alpha. As Rooster Teeth got new members and Achievement Hunter was born, he started collecting 'kids'. He always seemed to be older than the guys they hired and it felt natural to bring them under his wing, so to speak. It was a mixed-class office and he loved working with all types, especially the Omegas. He was excited that they could create a safe work environment for nerdy Omegas who usually had a bad past of bullying or harassment.

 

His close-knit little family grew one stitch at a time. He cared about everyone they hired, he did, but there was something special about the gold circle.

 

First came Jack, a nice tempered Beta. He and Gus (also a Beta) hit it off so well. Geoff had come close to being jealous by how fast they'd hit it off but in the end he'd just been happy his coworkers were getting along.

 

Then Burnie flew back from England with a shaggy haired kid who hadn't even presented named Gavin Free. Geoff had been pretty much blackmailed to keep the boy at his house and he'd ended up giving the brat the spare room above his garage. For almost a year Gavin was shy and nervous around him but once he'd presented as an Omega he'd warmed up, becoming the bouncy brat he knew today. They'd had a party for him, they'd celebrated his coming-of-status, and he seemed to grow into his own skin overnight.

 

An intern named Lindsay had been shoved into his arms as well. She was a beautiful Omega girl with natural red hair and freckles that had kind of made him breathless. But she was young and bright-eyed and he would never take advantage of his position over her. She quickly became the most useful member of his team.

 

An unpresented kid named Ray came next. He was funny and had a great smile and the moment Geoff stepped in the room with him he knew the boy would be an Omega. Ray had the start of a beard on his chin and a lanky form but every inch of him screamed submissive. He had a good gamer score and fuck if he didn't make Geoff laugh until he'd almost pissed himself.

 

 _My second Omega boy_ , Geoff mused with no small since of pride as he'd ushered the Puerto Rican into Matt's office to sign the final papers.

 

Then he'd had his first Alpha, Ryan Haywood. Unlike Ray who'd just sat there with hands twisting in his lap, Ryan had stood up the moment Geoff opened the door and reached out to shake his hand. His grip had been firm and sure, the strength in his gaze more than impressive. The other candidate in the lobby had been a humorous, well-behaved Beta but this Alpha's cover letter made him grin. Burnie had been wary of hiring another Alpha in the office but Geoff had fought for him. _It'd be good for everyone, man. He's not going to fuck with others._

 

His statement had been proven true when they'd introduced everyone and Ryan had just smiled and nodded when the Omegas had naturally circled him in an attempt to feel him out. Monty, Lindsay, Gavin, even Ray. But Haywood had played it cool and shaken every hand, assuring them that – _yes_ – he was single and – _no_ – he didn't think he was superior because of his status. He'd gone from 'knothead' to 'friend' in just a few minutes.

 

And then, through YouTube and phone calls and Xbox, he uprooted the foul-mouthed Michael Jones. He talked with and messaged the boy a lot and eventually hammered out a contract. There was no need for a face-to-face interview with that kind of potential. Geoff had watched all the kids videos and he knew, somehow, they he would fit. It had been a pain in his ass to convince the kid to abandon his life in Jersey (of all places) to fly out to Austin to start a job. It was the hardest he'd ever worked for an employee and he'd bitched to Burnie for two weeks about it before the kid had even showed up.

 

But when he did...it was like Geoff's world got turned upside down.

 

Gus and Adam had picked the kid up at the airport and taken him to the office to double check his direct deposit and sign the last of the papers. They still didn't know where the kid would be in the building so they stuck him in a spare room until they could decide the new set-up. It was a mess and he felt obligated to apologize to Jones and promise him a permanent place the moment they found one. It was the least he could do for bringing the guy all the way out there.

 

o0o

 

Geoff bounced his knuckles off the door in a rhythmic knock. He heard a muffled reply and took it for an invitation. He barged in already talking, “Listen, kid, sorry about all this. We're moving everyone around right now while we figure out who's going to be involved in what.”

 

“Michael.”

 

Geoff opened his mouth to reply and got his first whiff of the boy. His blood ran hot and his hand shot to grab the doorway to keep him from losing balance. The world narrowed down to the pair of legs sticking out from beneath a desk. Omegas all smelled delicious to him (he was a red blooded Alpha male, how could they not?) and they all had their own unique tone. But this boy...the whole room smelled like cherries. Like he'd chugged Cherry Coke and his nose was still fizzing. He groaned and his knees wobbled as he went light headed. He could drown in it.

 

The new hire climbed out from beneath the desk and glared at him, sitting on the carpet with his weight on his hands. He had a thick mop of ginger curls and dark glasses framing eyes the color of Geoff's favorite whiskey. He was pale; every bit of him soft from his jaw to his fleshy hips. His lips were plump and pink and he'd never wanted anything around his dick more than that mouth. He'd never seen a guy with that kind of cupid bow.

 

The kid's glare was burning into him now. “It's 'Michael', not 'kid'. My fucking name is Michael.”

 

“Hi,” it came out all breathy and he could practically feel the hearts dancing around his head. “I'm, uh...I'm Geoff.”

 

The kid raised an eyebrow. “I know who you are. You fucking hired me.”

 

“Yeah, I did, I did.” Geoff grinned and couldn't stop. “Are you settling in alright? Are you hungry? Is there anything I can get you?”

 

“Fuck off, knothead,” Michael spat before climbing back under the desk to set up his wires.

 

 _Oh_. It all clicked into place. _Omega. He's an Omega. A delicious, hot, amazing Omega who hates Alphas. Oh my fucking God, he's gorgeous_.

 

“Are you sure you don't need anything?”

 

Michael's head popped back out and this time he was scowling. “Did you hear me?”

 

“Yeah. Yeah I did.” Geoff nodded, still smiling like an idiot. “I was going to go out to lunch soon. I could bring you back something? You're probably going to be really busy for a while.”

 

The Omega sputtered for a moment, an angry flush coming over his face as he tried to figure out what exactly he was hearing.

 

“I can grab burgers. Do you like burgers?”

 

Michael just kept scowling though there was a little less heat behind it now. He would take a win where he could find it.

 

“How about fries? Everybody loves fries.” He rocked on his heels, already thinking of all the things he could bring the Omega back to eat. “I'll bring you a drink too. Do you like Coke? Pepsi?”

 

Michael stood up and walked toward him with a determined look that made his cock throb. For a glorious moment he thought he was going to get a handshake ( _or a hug or a kiss or an armful of warm Omega_ ) but the younger man just grabbed the knob and forced him out of the room with the door. It clicked shut between them before the lock snapped into place.

 

Geoff almost swooned against the metal, the smell of cherries still in his nose. “I'll be back soon.”

 

“Fuck off!”

 

Geoff thumped his forehead on the door. _I think I'm in love_.

 

 


	4. Geoff and Gavin I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What else could a surrogate Alpha give his Omega ward?

Gavin's coming-of-status party had been amazing. Everyone from the office had come, there had been lots of drinking and eating and celebrating. The boy had lit up when they'd pulled into a full driveway and hadn't once dulled as he'd become the center of attention for the next few hours. Thankfully everyone had emptied out and he had a moment alone with his friend for the first time since he'd presented a few days ago. From the moment Gavin had come out of his room with his hands covered in slick, he'd known exactly what he'd wanted to give the kid for hitting his last big milestone.

 

“Gavin?” Geoff knocked on the door a little too hard, that last drink had pushed him over the edge. “Gavvy-boy, you still up? Can I come in?”

 

“ 'Course, Geoff,” the boy replied through the door, sounding so young he almost left. But he told himself he'd do it and he had to go through with it or he'd never get another chance. He pushed open the door and almost immediately closed it. His ward, this new Omega kid that was under his employment, was standing there in nothing but a jock. Gavin was cute, he'd always been cute, but now he smelled like...like when you mowed over a patch of flowers on a lawnmower. Sheared flowers. Gorgeous. He was long and lean and bear, hair scattered everywhere and a shirt he'd just peeled off still in his hands. His eyes were wide and wet, staring at him with a whole level of trust.

 

But Geoff's gaze fell firmly on the swell of the new Omega's ass. The jock was dark and framed above his cheeks before curling down to cup them perfectly.

 

His jaw fell. “Oh, wow, Gav. I'm sorry, kid, I'll go if you're-”

 

“It's okay,” Gavin promised, turning to face him. The brat had never been ashamed of his body before, not after the first few months living with him. He wasn't above swimming around with very little on. But again, everything was different now. It wasn't just two friends, it wasn't a boss and an employee, it was now an Alpha and an Omega. Staring at one another, waiting to see what would happen.

 

“Did you have a good time?” he managed to ask.

 

“I really did.” Gavin's smile brightened the entire room. “Thanks for it. Really. We don't make a big deal out of it back home.”

 

The Alpha scrunched up his nose. “That's so crap. Presenting should be, like, the most amazing time of your life. Especially for Omegas. You guys are so precious and amazing and pretty and you deserve to have birthdays, _quinceañeras_ , Sweet Sixteens, and status parties. All of them.”

 

Gavin brayed out a laugh, his own cheeks red from all the beer he'd consumed throughout the night. “Well, I appreciate it. And the gifts were fucking top. They didn't have to do all that.”

 

“They wanted to,” Geoff promised, taking a few more steps into the room. “Speaking of presents: I still have to give you mine.”

 

The Omega turned toward him with a pouty frown, showing off the cradle of the jock over his hidden dick and balls. “I thought the party was my gift?”

 

“Not really. I want to give you something a little more personal, kid,” Geoff admitted, a little bubble of doubt threatening to sour the entire ending. “If you'll let me.”

 

Gavin's tongue darted out and wet his lips. He colored a little darker and nodded his assent. Geoff took the opening and closed the distance between them, cupping the boy's face with both hands and laying his thumbs along those impressive cheekbones. His friend shivered and goosebumps cropped up along all that bare skin.

 

“I want to give you your first kiss from an Alpha,” Geoff stated, the alcohol giving him the courage to tug the boy into his body. He looked him over, the first trickles of their arousal threading into their scents. He wanted to make sure he was reading the signs right and from what he could tell he wasn't making a mistake. “That way you know it was from someone who cares about you.”

 

Gavin leaned into him. “Please?”

 

Geoff claimed his mouth with abandon. He slanted his lips across the awaiting petals and plunged his tongue between them, tasting every inch of the willing mouth as if the boy really were his omega. Gavin's fingers curled into his shirt and kissed back, moaning sweetly and letting the Alpha have control. The moment Geoff tried to pull back and fight the enticing pheromones spilling out of the omega's body, the boy's hand shot up and grabbed his hair to keep him still. It was sloppy and bit like alcohol, but it sent the blood rushing to their cocks.

 

Geoff ripped his mouth away, panting wetly. “You smell fucking good, Gav.”

 

The boy's eyes fluttered open. “Thanks.”

 

“Listen to me.” He grabbed Gavin's chin and tilted his head back. “Don't you ever let an Alpha fuck with you. You're a good guy and you smell like catnip. They'll swarm you. You gotta protect yourself.”

 

A toothy smile was flashed at him. “You're, like, my surrogate Alpha while I'm here, yeah? Isn't it your job to protect me?”

 

“It is, and I will.” He rubbed his thumb over the boy's slick lower lip. “But I can't be there all the time and you have to learn to fight for yourself. If you didn't smell like fucking Heaven maybe I wouldn't be so worried but the fact is – you do.”

 

“Maybe it's just to you?”

 

“Maybe.” He stepped away, breaking the contact. Gavin started to reach for him but then thought better of it, backing up with his hands tucked behind his back like he didn't trust himself. “Get some sleep, kid. We still have work tomorrow.”

 

“Yes, sir.”

 

“Shut up, you little shit.”

 

* * *

 

**BTW: All of these drabbles are going to be this rough. I'm just kind of typing them out as they come to my head. I'll try to minimize the inconsistencies.**


	5. Geoff and Gavin II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin doesn't know what to do.

The creek of his bedroom door woke him up. Geoff groaned and pulled the blanket over his head, grumbling for whoever it was to just go the fuck away and kill him after his first cup of coffee. He

 

“Geoff?”

 

He peeked at the illuminated numbers on the alarm clock and scowled. “I swear to God, Gavin. It's two in the morning. I went to bed, like, forty minutes ago.”

 

“I'm 'soory,” the kid's accent thickened up, he sounded close to tears. It appealed to his Alpha nature and caved, as usual, and sat up. As he was rubbing his fists into his eyes he realized there was a new smell in the room. Crushed flowers. Like potpourri, but fresh. It was nice. He sniffed loudly, trying to figure out where it was coming from. The weight of his ward pushed down the bed and he moved forward, crawling over the Alpha's sprawled legs. He blinked into the boy's face and that quivering lower lip broke his heart.

 

“What's wrong, Gav?”

 

“I...I think I'm...” Gavin shook his head and straddled the older man's lap before holding out his hands. Geoff cupped the back of them and held them closer to his face, looking for cuts or bruises before he realized they were the source of the scent. Well, not the _source_. Curiosity overrode propriety and he ran his tongue over the boy's palm. The savory taste burst over his tongue and made him want to cuddle him up close to his chest and kiss him senseless.

 

 _Omega_.

 

Gavin gave a surprised moan. He looked up at the younger man and realized he was flushed and shaking, his sleep shirt soaked through with sweat. He looked somewhere between scared and aroused, like he was torn between tearing off and tearing his clothes off.

 

“Calm down, kid, you're alright.” Geoff pulled him into a friendly hug, cupping the back of his head and letting him rest his nose at the crook of his neck. A few deep breaths and he was calming down. “You presented, Gav. You're an Omega.”

 

“Is that...good?”

 

“That's fucking awesome,” Geoff laughed, pulling him back so they could look at each other properly. “Nothing would be better. Aren't you excited?”

 

Gavin's carefree smile came back. “Maybe a bit too much, yeah? I can't stop leaking.”

 

“Oh damn it,” he huffed, realizing the boy was purposefully squirming his butt all over his blanket. “Get the fuck up and get in the shower, you little shit.”

 

Gavin laughed and sprung up, running out of the room before the Alpha could catch him and give him a firm whack in the head.

 

 _This must be what it's like to have kids_. Geoff pursed his lips and rethought that. _Kids you kinda want to fuck. It's early. I'm weird._

 

 


	6. Geoff and Gavin III (Gavin and Dan I)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin takes a break from Rooster Teeth to do The Slow Mo Guys. No one's really happy about it.

“Are you sure?”

 

Gavin sat on his couch with a beer cradled between his palms, head hung. They had abandoned their casual _Soul Caliber_ game after the big news had been dropped. Geoff poured himself another shot and took it in one swallow. He plopped down beside the Omega and threw an arm over his shoulder. The boy hadn't been able to look him in the eyes since he'd said the words and it was unnerving.

 

“Gavin,” Geoff urged gently, tucking a thumb under his chin to try and get him to pick his head up. “Look at me. Please?”

 

The younger man shook his head.

 

“Gavvy,” he teased lightly, squeezing his shoulder, “Come on. You told me for a reason. You never clam up on me and I'm going to be honest, I'm worried.”

 

“I just told you I'm booking out,” Gavin muttered under his breath. “I don't want you to be angry with me.”

 

He hugged his boy a little closer. “What do you want me to do?”

 

“Yell? Maybe box my ears?” Gavin peeked up at him through blonde lashes. “I dunno. Thought you'd at least be a bit ruffled about it.”

 

“Dude, I am ruffled as hell,” Geoff pecked a kiss on the kid's cheek, the start of his beard scraping across his lips. “You know I love having you here. And it's not like England's on Mars or anything. You'll still be part of the company. We'll talk all the time on Skype. And Dan is a good guy. Slow Mo Guys is going to be fucking amazing, I already know it. I know _I'll_ be watching.”

 

Gavin slid down on the floor and wedged between his knees, shoulders brushing the inside of his thighs. The younger gamer took both his hands in his and gazed up at him with a look he'd never seen on his face before. “If you tell me not to go, I won't.”

 

“Gavin.” There was an edge in his voice now. “What have I told you about being strong by yourself?”

 

“I am! You've taught me that. You've taught me a lot of things,” he trailed off in a whisper. “And you've been really good to me. You let me live here and you've taken responsibility for me even though we both know you didn't have to.”

 

“Gavin-”

 

“I'm serious,” Gavin insisted. “You could have let Burnie or Matt do it but you didn't. Every time I bollocks stuff up you're there defending me. We're attracted to each other.”

 

“Because you're so damn cute.” Geoff desperately tried to lighten up the mood but the moment he tried to pull his hand away and pinch the Omega's cheek he got it slapped down. The boy leaned up on his knees and got face to face with him, fingers clamped tight on his hands.

 

“Why haven't you ever tried to court me?”

 

There it was. The question everyone in the office had asked him. The question he asked himself when he was so drunk he couldn't make it to bed and he ended up staring at the ceiling waiting to pass out. Gavin was funny and smart, he was great to hang around with, and he didn't mind if he got all pack-Alpha on him. The kid even seemed to enjoy the extra attention. They were good friends and it wasn't unusual for them to share a bed or kiss a bit, not after that first time after his coming-of-status party. They were compatible.

 

“You're too young to be attached to me, Gav.”

 

“I'm not a damn child!” he huffed, squeezing his fingers into the older man's palm. “I mean it. We're close but you've never shown any interest in...in _being_ with me, you now? I've been living in your garage for almost two years now, yeah, and you've never once tried to get me into bed properly.”

 

“Well-”

 

“Do you really not like me like that?” Gavin frowned, easing further onto the couch and backing the Alpha in until he sunk into the cushions.

 

“I-”

 

“Don't you like how I look?” He dragged one of Geoff's hands up and under his shirt, eyes threatening to flutter shut as large fingers skimmed up maddeningly close to his nipple. “I've seen you looking. That night of my party I thought your jaw was going to fall off when you caught sight of me changing.”

 

Geoff's mouth opened and closed uselessly as the boy pressed sweet kisses along his jaw.

 

“I still think about that,” Gavin admitted, losing his breath when the man's palm laid across his pounding heart. “You were drunk but you kissed me like you owned me. I'd never had anyone kiss me like that before. The Betas I drag through here aren't enough for me. They're not Alphas. They're not _my_ Alpha.”

 

Feeling Geoff go stock still beneath him, the Omega's natural need to please kicked in and he whined, trying to fix whatever he'd done to displease him. “Don't you want me here, Geoff? Do you...do you _want_ me to leave?”

 

“Shut up.”

 

It was an order and he didn't dare obey it. His teeth clacked and he was dragged further into the Alphas lap, a warm arm curling around his hips and a hand coming up to pet through his hair. He purred and wrapped himself around him, pushing his nose into his pulse point and breathing him in.

 

“You know you're my favorite, Gavin,” Geoff chuckled and kissed his ear to make him squirm. “But you deserve to go out in the world and find out what you want. I've got a lot of experience on you and it's not really fair. And if that means you going back to England for a while to make a bunch of kickass videos with your friend, then so be it.”

 

“That doesn't answer my question,” he griped into his ear.

 

“You're my friend and my proxy-Omega,” Geoff sighed, still scratching through that thick head of soft hair, “I'm not going to take advantage of that. And you know I'd been with Griffin forever when she left.” He could feel the boy about to protest. “And even if she was a Beta, she was important to me. She was the best thing in my life. Neither of us are ready for a courtship.” He kissed his cheek and nosed at the skin until Gavin sighed and smiled. “But if we were, we would hit it off.”

 

“We'd be unstoppable,” Gavin agreed.

 

“Hell yeah we would.” The boy sat back and they grinned at one another. “They wouldn't be able to handle it.”

 

Gavin wriggled closer and brushed their mouths, the other's beard making his lips tingle. “But you don't want me to leave?”

 

“Not at all,” he swore, “But I'm not greedy. I've got to share you with the rest of the world. No more hiding in my garage.”

 

“Will you miss me?”

 

“Like fucking crazy.”

 

Gavin stole another kiss, still just a fleeting contact. “But I'll come back.”

 

“But you'll come back,” Geoff repeated in a reassuring tone, relieved at how confidant the boy sounded. “And we'll still have a place for you here.”

 

“Will you?” he pressed. “Have a place for me, I mean.”

 

“Duh, dumbass. My garage is yours forever now. You've rubbed your stupid Omega scent all over it.” He delivered a playful smack to his shoulder. “If anyone else stays in there I'll just walk in to them humping the walls. You've stunk it up.”

  
The tension in the boy's shoulders fell away and his smile (somehow) grew wider. “So when I come back I can really stay with you again?”

 

He rolled his eyes. “Uh, yeah. Where the hell else are you going to stay? Unless you find some knothead over there, I'm still going to be your American proxy-Alpha.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Jesus, Gav, yes, of course. You're so stupid.”

 

“Am not!”

 

“Are too!”

 

“Am not!”

 

Gavin dug his fingers under the Alphas arm and made him bark out a laugh. They dissolved into a tickle fight that flung them all over the couch and spilled them down onto the carpet. Tears came to their eyes as they brayed, the sound of their laughter bouncing through the empty room. Just as Geoff was about to noogie the top of Gavin's head, the Omega hooked his legs and arms around him and delivered a wet lick to his Adam's apple.

 

“What about in the future?” he asked quietly.

 

Geoff sat back as much as he could and looked into the younger man's face. “Whatta' you mean?”

“Maybe some time in the future, when I've sown my oats or whatever and I come back, we can work something out?” White teeth raked over his lip, coloring the flesh and forcing blood to bump to the Alpha's cock. “If I don't have anyone and you don't have anyone...think that's something you'd be alright for?”

 

He raked the boy's bangs back so he could see the shining emerald of his eyes. “I don't see why not.”

 

o0o

 

_Two Months Later_

 

The airport was nearly empty. It was an early ass flight and no one really wanted to get on a plane at six in the morning except crazy English morons who tried to book their own flights and ended up clicking 'AM' instead of 'PM'. They'd already had a going away celebration and goodbyes had been said. But now it was dark outside and they were exhausted and boarding was about to start.

 

Gavin had his duffle bag slung over his shoulder and a pillow for the ride clenched between his arms. He was sulking, stomach empty and eyes barely able to stay open. He knew that one word to Geoff and the Alpha would run to the nearest vending machine or gift shop and scrounge up something for him. He didn't want to burden the Alpha any more than he already had, what with living in his garage and eating all his food and getting a paycheck for doing almost nothing all the time. He sniffled and reached out blindly for the man, trying to keep his eyes on the floor in case he started crying. No one needed to see another emotional Omega at the airport.  


“Oh, Gavin,” Geoff sighed, grabbing his hand and dragging him in to another hug. The older man's hoody was warm and he couldn't help but put his nose in it and take big, greedy gulps of his scent. Geoff always smelled like the wood polish he used on the coffee table and hot wiring or overheated metal. He would miss it. And the Alpha it was attached to. “Stop fussing. You're going to have a shit ton of fun over there. Dan's going to pick you up, right?”

 

He nodded into the soft material. “Mm-hmm.”

 

“Good.” Geoff's cheek scrubbed into the side of his head. “I don't want you in one of those shitty cabs.”

 

“I've taken public transport before.”

 

“Yeah, but I've been watching a lot of CSI and they abduct pretty Omegas all the time.”

 

Gavin chuckled weakly at that. “Are you going to miss me?”

 

It was probably about the hundredth time he'd asked but he didn't care.

 

“I always miss you,” Geoff promised, voice strained and ready to crackle. “You know, kid, you don't have to go. We can work something out with Dan, bring him over here or something. We'll find a permanent position for you. You can direct another season of Red vs. Blue. Or even-”

 

“Geoff.” He shook his head and slipped back, putting enough distance between them so he could see the older man's trembling smile. "Don't make this any harder than it already is.”

 

“You'll get to have your family, and Dan, and a whole new slew of fans,” Geoff rattled off like he was trying to convince himself more than he was the younger man.

 

Gavin gave a gurtled purr and bussed their noses together. “But not my Alpha.”

 

An announcement came through the speakers. _'Flight 441 now boarding in Gate B.'_  

 

“Fuck, that's me.” A flutter of panic tickled his stomach. “I – I – ”

 

“Hey.” The Alpha tone was back full force and it stopped his rant short. Fingers carded through his hair and carefully cradled his head. “Give me a kiss before you go?”

 

Gavin threw his arms around the Alpha, pillow and all, and kissed him so hard their teeth knocked together painfully. They laughed but didn't break the seal of their lips, hands holding too tight as they tried not to desperately eat at each other's mouths.

 

“Tell me not to leave,” Gavin begged, face already raw from beard burn.

 

Geoff bumped their foreheads with a little grin. “Don't leave.”

 

They stood there breathing in one another for a few more moments, only opening their eyes when there was another warning over the PA system. Gavin ran his fingers through the other's beard with a forced smirk. “You better do something with this beard while I'm gone. It's getting fucking out of control, yeah?”

 

“Fuck you! My beard is perfect!”

 

o0o

 

One week before Michael Jones officially agreed to join Rooster Teeth, Geoff got a Skype call from his favorite English Omega. Gus, Ryan, Jack, and Ray were all crammed on his couch trying to thrash the shit out of each other at Mario Kart.

 

“Guys!”

 

It was the only warning they got before Geoff launched himself over the back of the couch and in between them, ass carving a path between Gus and Jack's hips. He shoved a bowl of popcorn out of the way before slapping the laptop down on the table. He hit 'accept' and a bedroom flickered into place along with their friend. “It's Gavin!”

 

“GAVIN!”

 

The cry of his name made the boy laugh on the other side. He was sitting crosslegged on his bed and his hands were tucked into his lap, t-shirt tight across his chest and more facial hair on his face than last time they'd seen him. Geoff felt that familiar bubble of pride in his gut and he couldn't help but smile back at the screen.

 

“Vav!”

 

“ _X-Ray!_ ”

 

Ray shoved his way over Jack's lap and gave the Omega a thumbs up, “Check me out. How do I look?”

 

“ _Have you presented yet?_ ”

 

“Fuck no.”

 

“ _Then you look like the same stupid wanker you were before._ ”

 

“Oh yeah, he missed me,” Ray nodded, wiggling back into his seat. “Tots in love with me. You guys can just hang it up now.”

 

They all talked over each other and everyone declared the details of their day. Gavin told them about the sweet stunts he'd set up for _The Slow Mo Guys_ bit and they all had a good laugh about it, swearing up and down to watch the videos the moment they were published. Jack started talking about the pretty girl he'd been seeing lately and the Omega tensed up, blush visible on his cheeks even with the pixels a little fucked up.

 

“ _Actually, there's something I wanted to tell you guys while you're all together,_ ” Gavin's statement quieted the rowdy bunch. “ _It's about Dan and me, actually_.”

 

“Oh,” Gus nodded, having suspected there was an ulterior motive for a call this late at night.

 

“ _We're, uh, we're kind of seeing each other._ ”

 

“Oh!” Gus exclaimed with a higher inflection, standing up and grabbing Ryan by the shirt. “Okay, guys, shows over. Let's go, uh, hang out in the bedroom for a few minutes.”  
  
Ray frowned but Jack caught on and snagged the Puerto Rican under the arm, uplifting him from the couch and half-dragging him towards one of the back rooms. Ryan wasn't protesting but he didn't look happy to have a Beta leading him by the sleeve of his shirt. In less than a minute the only two in the room was Geoff and his laptop.

 

“Dan's an Alpha, right?”

 

Gavin scratched the back of his neck. “ _You know he is, man._ ”

 

“So is this serious?”

 

“ _Uh, well, it's just kind of a thing right now. We're just faffing about while we're doing all this. It just, you know, came up. A single Alpha and Omega practically living together, it was bound to happen, yeah?_ ”

 

That felt like a sucker punch. “I'd rather you 'faff' about with someone who you care about than someone who's close. I've seen him and he's hot or whatever, but there's more than that.”

 

“ _Yeah, I know_.” The kid was shifting around now. “ _I didn't call to fight._ ”

 

“I'm kind of drunk, so that's all I can do at this point.”

 

“ _I just want your blessing._ ”

  
“My what?”

 

Gavin threw his hands up, puffing out a loud breath. “ _Your bloody blessing, Geoff! I want to know that messing around with Dan over here isn't going to make you angry. You're still..._ ” The boy caught his lip between his teeth briefly. “ _You know my dad doesn't give a fuck and you're the one who would, uh, who would...you know, fucking care about what I'm doing. You're my best mate and you're still my Alpha._ ”

 

That soothed a lot of his ruffled feathers. He dropped his head into his hands and dug his knuckles into his eyes, rubbing out some of the drunken blur.

 

“ _I shouldn't have called right now_ ,” Gavin muttered over the speaker. “ _I should've done it at lunch on your time. I didn't want to do it while you were drunk._ ”

 

“I'm fine!” Geoff growled but quickly softened it up so he didn't upset the Omega. “I'm fine, Gav, really. I told you to do what made you happy and if that pretty boy Alpha does it for you, I'm on board.”

 

“ _Are you taking the piss?_ ”

 

“My 'Gavin' is kind of rusty.”

 

“ _Are you for serious? Are you not angry?_ ”

 

“Hell no, I'm not angry.”

 

The boy sighed. “ _Oh thank God._ ”

 

“How big's his dick?”

  
  
“ _'Bout as big as yours. Not quite though_.”

 

He felt his ears burn. “How the hell do you know what my dick looks like?”

 

Gavin just shot him a wink before the video blinked out.

 

o0o

 

Geoff stayed drunk for two days before he decided he really was okay with it.

 

 _My boy's all grown up_ , he thought to himself right before Ray and Gus went bounding past the door with lamp shades on their heads. _Good thing I've got, like, four more._


	7. Geoff and Michael III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Geoff is practically following Michael around trying to prove himself a good Alpha. Unfortunately for him, Michael doesn't need a fucking Alpha. Can they just work it out being themselves? Of-fucking-course they can.

**Sorry if it's rough. This took the longest to write but I felt really satisfied finishing it.**

* * *

 

“You motherfucker! You fucking flippy piece of shit!” Michael screamed, knuckles white on his controller as the _Impossible Game_ threatened to push him on the verge of a heart attack. “I can’t even record this part because I’m dying every five-!”

 

The rant was stopped short by the appearance of a small bottle of water on his desk along with an apple. The fruit was the perfect swirl of red and yellow, one of his favorites. The little box shattered on screen and he was prompted to respawn but he wasn’t looking at that. He tilted his head back and spotted his boss standing behind him, smiling in that goofy way he seemed to do around him. _What the actual fuck?_

 

“How’s it going, Michael?”

 

“Fine,” he grunted out, tossing a chin at the items. “The fuck?”

 

“You’ve been stuffing yourself with Cheetos and Red Bull all day, you need some vitamins,” Geoff replied casual as could be. “I knew this game was giving you trouble and the editing is going to suck ass so you won’t be leaving the building anytime soon. I wanted to make sure you had something good for you.”

 

“Listen, Geoff, dude – fuck off,” Michael snapped. “Just because I’m an Omega doesn’t mean I need to be taken care of. I’m a grown-ass man and if I want to ‘pollute my body’ or whatever, I’m gonna do it.”

 

“Alright, alright.” Hands were thrown up in surrender. “I’ll leave you to it.”

 

The moment the older man was gone he snatched up the apple and took a generous bite. It tasted way too fucking good. Stupid, thoughtful prick. Across the room, Ray snickered at him.

 

“Hey, shut up, dickhead!” Michael growled around his bite of fruit. “Wait until you present as an Omega. Alphas are going to be sniffing up your ass all the time too and you’ll see how much it sucks.”

 

“Aw, poor baby. He’s got a boss who gives him nights off and brings him food,” Ray whined, sticking out his tongue. “And fuck you, man, I could be a beta.”

 

“Sure. Yeah. _Beta_.” He rolled his eyes. “Keep dreaming, dude.”

 

o0o0o0o

 

A lot of the guys from the office liked to hit a local, open-late bar after work. After two months of Caleb poking him every evening, Michael finally gave in and went. Gus and Burnie were the first ones drunk and they made the entire night worth it, attempting to table dance and trying to take shots of each other’s foreheads. He’d never laughed so hard in public before.

 

“Guys, it’s like, two in the fucking morning, I’m done!” Michael declared, waving off Joel and Kerry’s whine of displeasure.

 

“One more,” Joel offered, calling the bartender over. “Three more shots.”

 

Michael couldn’t turn down a free drink. “Hurry it the fuck up, man.”

 

One shot turned into another beer and into another thirty minutes.

 

One of the animators who had gone out for a smoke ducked his head into the bar. “Jones! There’s a cab for you out here, man.”

 

Michael’s nose scrunched up. “I didn’t call a cab.”

 

“I did.” Geoff sidled up beside him, cheeks rosy from drinking. He tapped the table and got the bartender’s attention, waving him over before slapping down a fifty. “I’ve got his tab.”

 

“Whoa, what?” Michael whipped around in his seat and made a grab for the money. The alpha was too quick for him and he slipped the bill into the bartender’s hand. The younger gamer flashed his teeth before he shoved the man so hard he smacked into the bar. “I can pay for myself, asshole.”

 

Geoff didn’t look upset but he did dodge when the Omega tried to strike out again. “I wanted to pay for you.”

 

“Well _don’t_!” Michael raked his hair back from his face, not for the first time wishing he was a little more intimidating. “I don’t need you picking up my tab or calling me a car. I don’t need an Alpha.”

 

Geoff leaned on the counter, a smile curling his mouth. “I just wanted to make sure you got home alright. What’s wrong with that?”

 

“I – you – fuck you, man,” he floundered, jabbing the man in the chest with the end of his finger. “Don’t do it again.”

 

His boss just shrugged and that both infuriated and intrigued him.

 

o0o0o0o

 

“God, I’m hungry,” Michael bitched, headphones down around his neck and the newest _Rage Quit_ laid out on both his screens. His stomach was grumbling loudly and the only food he had in the break room was more junk. If he ate one more chip he was going to barf.

 

Ray shucked his own headphones and cocked his head back over his chair to look at him. “You want some of my candy stash?”

 

Michael pushed away from his desk and took off his glasses to rub over his eyes. “Ugh, no more candy, no more sugar, man. I need some serious substance.”

 

“Can’t you go drive and get something?”

  
“I’m gonna have to fucking walk ‘cause I haven’t found a decent car yet,” he explained.

 

“If I had a car I would help.”

 

“Just go back to your shit. I’m gonna mope for a few more minutes.”

 

Ray shrugged and tugged his headphones back on, attention returning to his screens. Michael sunk into his chair and rubbed an absent hand over his stomach, trying to get it to calm down. A little knock on the open door startled him. Geoff was standing there with his arm braced on the frame.

 

“Let’s go.”

 

“What?”

 

“You’re hungry, right? Let’s drive somewhere and get something good.”

 

“Uh,” he glanced at Ray and then at Jack’s empty desk. “Really?”

 

Geoff just cocked his head expectantly.

 

“Right now?”

 

“Unless you'd like to starve.”

 

“I’m not _starving_ , I’m just hungry.”

 

He jingled his keys. “I’m driving.”

 

Michael pursed his lips and looked the Alpha over, trying to see any ill intentions. He weighed the options in his head. Having a good lunch with his boss wasn’t the worse thing in the world. And despite Geoff’s semi-constant good deeds, it wasn’t exactly the aggressive behavior he was used to. He wasn’t sure if it the Texan breed of Alpha or just Geoff but if this shit had been going on back home he would’ve been manhandled to the point of a restraining order by now.

 

“Okay. But I’m paying.”

 

“Sounds good to me.”

 

Fuck. An Alpha letting an Omega pay?

 

_What the fuck is up with this guy?_

 

o0o0o0o

 

Geoff slid his chair up behind his employee's chair. He kept a respectful distance but there was still an intimacy when he reached out and touched the back of his arm. “Hey Michael?”

 

He didn’t look away from his practice game. “Yeah?”

 

“You want to come over for beer and old school _Halo_?”

 

That caught his attention enough for him to pause. “I do love me some _Halo_. Who else is coming?”

 

“Uh,” the man drew out the syllable for a little too long, “I was thinking just, you know…us.”

 

That made his hair stand on end. “Like a date?”

 

“Like friends,” Geoff promised. “We could order pizza and get drunk and you could practice your screaming at the TV. It could be really fun.” His hands wrung in his lap like the Alpha was nervous or some shit. “I won’t try anything, if that’s what you’re worried about. I want us to...you know.”

 

“What?”

 

“Be friends.”

 

Michael could feel his heart thumping a little harder in his chest. He rubbed knuckles over his embarrassingly warm cheek and turned his head away to keep the man from seeing it. “Sure. Is Saturday good? I don’t want to be hung over at work.”

 

o0o

 

Despite Jack teasing them about their “little date night”, it went really well. They ended up ordering way too much Chinese that only tasted better and better after every beer. They burned through two different _Halo_ games with near-running commentary and laughed their way into _Mario Party 2_ on the N64. Michael couldn’t stop cursing at it like it had personally offended him and Geoff had to excuse himself twice to keep from pissing himself on the couch. It went on for hours, the two playfully swatting the controllers out their opponent's hands and managing to get to know each other through all the trash talking.

 

The clock hit three and it was like a switch got flipped in Michael’s brain. He started to wind down like a toy, yawning and blinking owlishly behind his glasses. After the fourth time Mario slipped off the platform, Geoff set his controller down and declared it bed time.

 

“Gimme’ some blankets, will you?” Michael slurred, alcohol and exhaustion making his brain sluggish.

 

“You’re not sleeping on the couch.”

 

The Omega growled out a dozen threats as the other forced him up off the couch and through his house, tugging him in to the guest bedroom and plopping him down on the bed. “You know where the bathroom is. There’s a spare toothbrush in there for you.”

 

“You’d rather have me in your bed than in here,” Michael snickered, tongue looser than he would have liked. The Alpha ruffled his hair and left him alone, calling out _good night_ before disappearing to his own room. Michael gaped after him with unconcealed shock. He’d been dead sure that the entire night had been some sort of elaborate set up to get him drunk enough to agree to spread his legs. But here he was, honor intact and full clothed. The bed had obviously been made with fresh sheets and pillowcases. Like, on purpose.

 

_What the fuck is that guy’s deal?_

 

Still confused, Michael got up to lock the door and strip down to his boxers. He didn’t have any more brain power to do any hard thinking tonight.

 

o0o

 

Michael woke up moaning, sunlight in his eyes and his nose pressed deep into his pillow. His dreams faded fast as the very real Alpha scent wrapped around him. The bed, the blankets, the entire room was swamped in Geoff’s smoky scent. He dug his teeth into the material and he could fucking _taste_ it. He ground his hard cock into the bedding and clutched the pillow that much harder. No one could see him, no one would walk in, there was no shame in it. The first touch of a hangover was creeping into the back of his head but he pushed it back.

 

He closed his eyes and let his mind wander to where it wanted to be.

 

_A faceless Alpha above him, holding on to his hips and fucking into him so deep it jolted him across the bed. His hair was pulled, cock leaking and neglected against his stomach. He was used. Pathetic little moans were punched out of his throat as the Alpha raked over his sweet spot._

 

“Fuck, Geoff.”

 

The name slipped past his tongue before he could swallow it down.

 

Michael’s face flamed up but his cock throbbed even harder; he could feel the natural slick from his empty hole spreading into his boxers. The fantasy changed, a dark beard and sleepy eyes filling in the anonymous Alpha. He shifted until he could slide a hand into his boxers, fingers curling along his dick and tugging twice before he came. It was messy and stained across his underwear and sheet but it was one of the most satisfying orgasms he’d had in a long time.

 

He managed to peel off the bed and looked down at his chest, sweat and jizz smeared over his skin.

 

“Motherfuck.”

 

o0o

 

He smelled breakfast cooking downstairs and his mouth watered. He felt guilty standing at the top of Geoff’s stairs, filthy and nearly naked, denying the natural pull between them.

 

“Hey, man, can I borrow some clothes?”

 

“Sure!” the man yelled up without hesitation.

 

o0o

 

Michael plucked at the shirt he’d found buried in the guest room dresser, ignoring how well it fit or how good it smelled. Geoff was fumbling around the kitchen creating food out of practically nothing, the controlled chaos somehow leaving the worn dining table alone. The only thing on it were a few big plates that had food piled on it. “You didn’t have to, man.”

 

“Shut up and eat,” Geoff backed off in time for a small fire to come up from under a pan. “Shit.”

 

“That’s impressive.”

 

“If you eat all the bacon, I’ll kill you.”

 

“Doubt that.” Michael plopped down at the table and picked up the nearest fork, ignoring the intentionally empty plate in front of him and eating off the serving plates. He grinned around a mouthful of eggs when the Alpha shot him a glare.

 

The older man sniffed the air but if he noticed the filthy clothes hastily stuffed into Michael’s backpack, he didn’t mention it.

 

o0o0o0o

 

This went on forever. Painfully slow months of progress went by as Geoff courted/not-courted Michael, working up from a simple employee relationship to friends to buds. Though the Omega constantly refused to admit they were dating, he stopped protesting whenever the other got him food or extended his deadlines. When the guys (and the girls, no fucking discrimination over here) partied at Geoff’s house, Michael somehow always ended up sitting beside the Alpha. Their little date nights continued and they always ended up in separate bedrooms with some kind of shared meal in the morning (sometimes he’d cook, sometimes it was just leftover pizza). They became good friends because it was just too God damn easy to like someone as easy going as Geoff.

 

And then came the tipping point.

 

o0o0o0o

 

“Fuck.” Michael took off his beanie and pushed his fingers through his sweaty curls. “God fucking damn it. Not here, man, not here.”

 

The Omega whimpered and doubled over, arms curling over his stomach protectively as another cramp seized his muscles. He bit down on his lip until it started to hurt and he forced himself to let go, settling on gritting his teeth instead. Stupid fucking off-brand suppressants. He hated them but he just kept buying them for no fucking real reason other than the good shit had to be special ordered and he didn't have time for that. But every once in a while his hormones would kick off so hard that he powered through the medical block. It was probably from hanging around with all those fucking Alphas. Joel, Burnie, Barbara, Ryan, and-

 

_Geoff._

 

Michael moaned again, hand shooting up to stuff his knuckles in his mouth to keep from making anymore noise. He was in the bathroom of a noisy, crowded bar and people were filing in and out every few seconds. He wasn't nearly alone. Fuck, but the thought of Geoff out there, smelling like he did, single and probably more than willing to come in here and fuck him against the wall was driving him crazy. He'd probably take good care of him too. He seemed like the kind to go real slow, maybe rock the swell of his knot right up against his hole until his body just fucking took it. Once, after a few drinks, Gus had told them all the exact specifics of Geoff's dick and it sounded God damn impressive. It would fill him up until he cried and for some reason that sounded better than anything else in the world right now.

 

A high, embarrassed noise escaped him when he felt his hole twitch and leak into his boxer briefs. _Fucking-fuck me sideways. I'm gushing like a fucking girl in here._

 

He really needed to text someone to come and fish him out (take him home, for Christ's sake) but his animal brain was fighting against all rational thought. He tried for his phone but his fingers fumbled dumbly along the line of his pocket. Another wave of heat rocked him on his heels and his knees wobbled dangerously. He didn't want to mate, he _didn't._ He was too young to get attached to an Alpha, even one as cool as Geoff had been. They were all the same. The moment they thought they owned an Omega all sense of propriety left their heads. The urge that was fucking up Michael's head right now was the same thing inside Alpha's that made them want to fuck the holy hell out of an Omega in heat. It was a common occurrence back in New Jersey to lock Omegas up when they went in to heat because there were plenty of Alphas roaming the streets who were ready and willing to ignore the word 'no'.

 

How many in this bar were the same way?

 

 _You're fine,_ he tried to reason with himself, shirt sticking to his spine, _The people are way nicer here and your friends are out there. No one's going to hurt you. They're just going to want to touch you. Maybe they'll slap your ass or rub up on you, but they're not going to rape you. That's fucking stupid. This is a public place and it's against the damn law. You're fine. You're so fine._

 

Michael's stomach quivered under his hands, the dumb monkey part of his brain chiming in. _But there are Alphas out there. They want to fuck me. Or hurt me. It's not safe._

 

The door swung open again, this time bringing in the scent of an Alpha. Michael tried to stay still but the man stopped outside his door and sniffed twice, catching the pheromones he was pumping out. The gamer backed himself into the corner of the relatively clean stall and tried to make himself as small as possible. The door moved when the guy put a hand on it.

 

_Don't come in here. Please. Please, God, please._

 

“Fuck off, dickweed!”

 

The guy snorted before stepping off to the urinal, pissed, and then he was gone.

 

_I need to get the fuck out of here._

 

Michael was in the middle of some deep (possibly frantic) breathing exercises when someone tapped on the door. The Omega shuddered against the tile, pressing back so hard his head nearly clunked off the wall. He wanted to bark a threat at whoever was on the other side but all he could manage was a small grunt. The hurt from his stomach was radiating up into his lungs and everything was starting to ache like a body-wide bruise. He knew it was way too late for suppressants but there were heat alleviates all over the market. Heats were super fucking painful without them. They were supposed to be, it was nature telling them to mate and when the right hormones and shit weren't produced to up the endorphins and make it bearable.

 

Nature didn't give a fuck that he couldn't make babies.

 

He needed to get his hands on some of those, some water, some food, and get back to his bedroom for a few days. He hadn't suffered through a heat in months but this one felt like it would be short and sharp, maybe just two days. But it was going to really fucking hurt.

 

Another knock. “Michael?”

 

“Geoff?” he rasped, daring to peek through the crack in the stall to confirm it was him.

 

“There's no one else out here.” Geoff's voice was low, soothing, like he was talking to a startled animal. “Joel's playing bodyguard outside the door. Someone said there was an Omega in heat in here.”

 

“I'm fucking fine!” he lied, starting to pant. “Just leave me alone.”

 

“You're not fine, Michael. I can smell it and eventually the Alphas out here are going to smell it to.”

 

“Well fuck them.”

 

“I'm going to take you home.”

 

Michael whined in the back of his throat, slapping a hand over his mouth at the last second. Which home? _His_ home? Geoff's home?

 

The bathroom door creaked open and Joel's voice floated in. “Geoff, dude, there's some Alphas sniffing around out here.”

 

“Okay, that's it.” Michael instinctively covered his face when the door was smacked into. The lock cracked under the force but the door didn't fly in because the Alpha snagged the edge at the last second. Geoff eased it open the rest of the way and crowded into the frame, holding out his hand. “Let's go.”

 

Michael shook his head, peeking out from between his arms.

 

“Michael. Listen to me. You're in no condition to fight off every hand that's out there ready to grope the hell out of you and I don't want you heat-fucking someone you're going to regret.”

 

He slapped the man's hand away when he reached out for him, though the brief contact sent some sparks along his skin. “I don't need your God damn help.”

 

“Yes you do! You don't have to admit it, you just have to quit being a little defensive shit for five minutes!” Geoff snapped impatiently. “I don't want anything to happen to you and I'm tired of you fighting me all the time! Come. Here.”

 

Michael nodded wordlessly and took the man's hand, the Alpha tone forcing down all his earlier objections. After tucking him into his side, Geoff led them out of the bathroom and back into the main part of the bar. Their friends seemed to know what was going on and just kind of waved at them as they rushed by.

 

Long, polished nails grazed his wrist and somehow managed to tug him out of Geoff's grasp. Michael came face to face with a pretty, older blonde female Alpha who was wearing way too much makeup and perfume. She moved into his personal space and brushed her nose against his neck.

 

“Hello, pretty,” she purred.

 

Geoff's arm slung under his and easily pulled him back to his side. “I didn't come here to punch ladies.”

 

“I didn't throw myself at her or anything,” Michael griped. They'd almost made it to the door when another hand shot out, grabbing the swell of his ass and squeezing. He yelped, and before he'd finished making the sound Geoff had moved around him and socked the guy in the jaw.

 

The older man shook the pain out of his hand as he opened the door for the Omega to slip out.

 

“What was that?”

 

“He wasn't a lady.”

 

o0o

 

The car ride was tense. Geoff's fingers were white around the steering wheel and he sounded like he was trying to breathe through his mouth. Michael was hunched down in his seat with his arms wrapped around his knees, chin digging into the top of them. He'd defiantly left his seat belt off.

 

“If I stink that bad, just turn on the fan,” Michael grumbled into his jeans.

 

Geoff didn't rise to the bait. “Do you have everything you need at your house?”

 

“I, uh,” Michael's tongue tied itself up. “I haven't really had time to prepare for all this, you know? I thought my suppressants would do their fucking job.”

 

“Don't tell me you're taking the off-brand crap?”

 

He shrugged.

 

“Jesus Christ. It's like every Omega I know is a fucking idiot,” he cursed, making a sudden turn. The Omega clung on to the seat as the panic started to seep back into his body. They were going the wrong way. _They were going the wrong way_. He started to full-on pant, an arm wiggling between his legs and chest to lay across his stomach. The cramping was getting worse but now his mind was racing between _pleasefuckmegoodAlphaplease_ and _don'tyoufuckingdaretryandmatemeyousonofabitch._

 

True to his fears, they parked in Geoff's driveway. The Alpha leaned over and he flinched back but there wasn't a lot of place to go. “And for the record, you smell fucking amazing and I'm going to have to wash the inside of my car if I don't wanna' be driving around with wood all the time.”

 

With that, the Alpha got out and headed inside the house. Heat boiled in his stomach and spilled into his groin, filling his cock and making his hole clench and remind him just how empty and slick it was. He sunk down as far as he could and pulled his beanie down until it scratched into his eyebrows. He loved his job, he seriously did, and he didn't want to leave. Geoff was a nice dude, it wasn't his fault he was just another knothead thinking with his weird dick instead of his actual brain. He'd made all these cool new friends and now he was going to have to start again. He's have to go back to being a damn electrician and living hand-to-mouth in a shitty apartment.

 

“This is such bullshit,” he hissed, scrubbing the bottom of his shoes on the man's dash. There was scuffing outside and he was already curling his hands into fists in preparation for a fight. He would claw Geoff's eyes out before he let someone force themselves on him. _Even if I've thought about it. And I want it, I want it so bad, but not like this. Not ever after this._

 

Geoff opened up the car door and slid inside with a plain, grey backpack in his hand. He put it in the foot space of the passenger seat before settling into his own seat. He threw the car in reverse and backed out rather easily. Michael scowled, grabbing the pack and practically ripping the zipper to open it. His expression changed, becoming more unsure, his trademark rage fizzling out.

 

“I got that together the last time you were over,” Geoff explained, eyes staying on the road. “Your scent was stronger and I thought you were close to your heat. I was actually going to pack another smaller bag for the car this Monday. It's got everything you'll need in it. Heat reliever, a couple bottles of water, Gatorade, and lots of fiber-y protein bars and chocolate and shit. I found a few of those ice packs that activate when you crack them and put them in there too.”

 

His chest was heavy for a whole different reason. “But...why?”

 

“What the hell do you mean 'why'?” Geoff glanced sideways at him. “A heat is no joke. And you better lock your damn door when you get in your apartment because this one is potent as dicks, alright?”

 

Michael was still gaping when the car pulled into a spot in his lot. He looked around at the brightly lit row of apartments and realized he was home. Geoff had taken him home and given him everything he would need for the rest of his heat. The Alpha sat there looking at him expectantly, arms folded on the wheel.

 

“I won't leave until you're inside,” Geoff assured him. “And you can text me if you need anything. Or Ray, if you don't feel comfortable having an Alpha close. I mean, I'll drive the brat, but still. Semantics.”

 

Michael tentatively reached out and laid his hand on the older man's thigh, the worn denim butter smooth under his palm. Geoff's hand dropped on his own, squeezing it.

 

“Thanks”

 

The whisper was almost lost in the rumble of the car.

 

The Alpha smiled that dorky smile of his. “You're welcome. Take care of yourself, alright? Don't come back to work until you're absolutely sure it's over. Because I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to tape my hand from punching that asshole earlier and I don't think I could fight the whole office.”

 

Michael snickered at that image and was about to make a smart ass comment but was cut off by throb of heat in his dick. The small contact with the Alpha was scorching the nerves all the way up his arm. It would be so easy to throw the seat back and crawl into the man's lap, tongue fuck him, and grind down on the bulge he could see in his pants. _First round in the car. Reminds me of high school._

 

Geoff patted the back of his hand. “You should get up there. It's going to get worse before it gets better.”

 

Michael grabbed the bag and put it over his shoulder, dark eyes lingering on the Alpha before he managed to push open the door and get out.

 

o0o

 

The first thing Geoff did when he got home was jump in the shower and jerk off to the thought of his pretty, Omega employee lost in the throes of heat.

 

Just a few miles away, Michael buried three fingers inside his slick hole and moaned his boss's name into his pillow case.

 

o0o

 

Four days later, Michael strut back into the office with a nauseating mix of uncertainty and determination. He hit all the main spots looking for one person in particular. He wasn't exactly sure what he was going to say. His body and mind were still all warm and fuzzy from the heat but he was a lot more sure than he had been last week. It was high time he got over his obnoxious distrust of Alpha's and suck it up. He needed to be a big boy and make big boy decisions.

 

Though he _did_ play video games for a living and that kind of undermined his mindset, but he shook that off.

 

He found Geoff in the podcast recording room listening to music on Lindsay's bright pink iPod. It was empty and the man was busy scribbling down something. There was a glass wall on one side with heavy foot traffic but he didn't give a fuck. If he was going to do this, he was going to do it right. The Omega paused at one of the more reflective picture frames and took a look at himself. He shucked off his beanie and shoved it into his back pocket, fingers carding and pulling at his unruly mop of curls to get them into some semblance of order. He smoothed out his shirt, checked his breath, and made sure his pants were zipped.

 

_This is as good as it gets._

 

Michael went in and closed the door behind him. He eased up behind the Alpha and (after a deep breath and a muttered _don't be a pussy_ ) draped his arms around the man's shoulders and rested his chin there. Geoff kind of jumped but he quickly recovered and took the buds out of his ears.

 

“Michael,” he sounded a little relieved, “You're back. How was your heat?”

 

“It was fine. Better, thanks to your stuff.” He made sure to keep his voice low in the man's ear, his own heart fluttering lightly near the base of his throat. “A little lonely though.”

 

Geoff made a small, noncommittal noise and he went back to writing down what looked like future _Let's Plays_ (except for his scribble now seemed a little more jagged).

 

“I don't think I told you before but your ink is fucking bitchin', man.” Michael trailed his fingers just under the man's short sleeve, a featherlight touch along marked flesh. “It was the first thing I noticed about you. I've gotta get the name of your guy because it's way better than mine.”

 

The Alpha's muscles seemed to automatically flex with a breathy Omega so close to him. “I like yours.”

 

“Thanks.” He hugged the man's chest, arms crossed over it and putting him tight against the back of the chair. He could almost feel the man's full attention shifting to him. “I wanted to ask you a question.”

 

“Shoot.” Geoff's voice cracked.

 

_Gotcha._

 

“I was thinking that we should go see the new Marvel movie together.”

 

The Alpha relaxed a little at that. “Sure, yeah.”

 

Michael hummed and his fingers shifted up to trace the collar of Geoff's shirt. His cock gave a twitch of interest when he touched the soft flesh at the base of his throat. “And I think we should go get dinner afterward.”

 

Geoff's hand came up and touched his, mimicking their last touch in the car. “Okay.”

 

There was a lump of butterflies in his stomach but he couldn't back down now. Not when he was salivating to know the damn answer. “And I was also thinking that we maybe do that on repeat for a while and call it dating. Or courting, as you fucking knotheads like to say.”

 

Geoff stood up so fast he let go, backing up a step while a blush burned across his ears and the bridge of his nose. The Alpha was staring at him with wide, heart-filled eyes and the damn smile that a grown man shouldn't be able to have.

 

“You'd let me?”

 

Michael rolled his eyes. “Don't make me regret it.”

 

The Alpha ran at him and easily picked him up off his feet in a bear hug. His cry of surprise turned into a belly laugh. Geoff's enthusiasm was catching. He was swung around a few times before he was plopped back down on his feet. For a second the thought he was going to get kissed but the older man just stared at him like he'd done the most brilliant thing he'd ever seen.

 

“You will _never_ regret this.”

 

* * *

**Okay, we need more porny ones. I'm getting to it. Gotta earn that rating.**

 


	8. Geoff and Gavin IV (Gavin and Dan II)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin isn't finding what he needs out in the world. He wants to go home.

_He felt like he was on fire. Hands slid over his ribs and across his stomach, grazing the line of his dick and the peaks of his nipples just enough to make him shudder and moan. The unyielding Alpha cock inside him was blood-hot and it hit every spot so well...he'd never had it so good. The start of the man's knot nudged at his rim. Shameless begging tumbled from his lips. 'Fuck, Geoff, harder...fill me up. God, fucking knot me.'_

 

“Geoff...”

 

Gavin woke up mid-climax, hips working hard into the bed and fingers clutched desperately into the sheet. Blonde lashes fluttered wildly over wet eyes as he spilled all over his briefs. He made a little surprised sound as he realized what was happening but it was too late to save himself the indignity of coming in his underwear like a teenager.

 

“Bollocks,” he puffed, arms shaking as he managed to get himself to sit up. There was a phantom ache in his ass and he wondered (in a brief delirium) whether he'd actually been fucked or not. _Bloody stupid that is. Geoff's a whole ocean away._

 

That killed his afterglow stone dead. He snagged his phone and pulled the blankets up around his bare chest, curling himself around his best pillow in a slump. His thumb flicked over the screen but there was no real purpose. It wasn't like he could call the Alpha up and be like, “What's up, mate? Just had a real nice dream about you. Wanna take a ten hour flight with three pit-stops to come suck my knob?”

 

Geoff would laugh him off the face of the Earth.

 

Who did you call when you had a wet dream about your boss?

 

He frowned. _Do I call Dan?_

 

Technically they were together. Dan was his best mate and the sex was fucking hot but there wasn't anything beneath that. They loved doing the same things, it was fun to hang out, and _The Slow Mo Guys_ was some of the best fun he'd ever had. But when he laid in Dan's arms it just didn't feel right. Geoff made him feel special and safe; he was like a quilt. He could take care of him. Geoff was the kind of Alpha who laughed at him when he fell but kissed his skinned knee afterward. He was a buddy, a father figure, and he'd seen the man's prowess first hand. Geoff had only brought Beta girls into the house but not one of them had left less than satisfied. He'd heard them through the walls. And if Geoff could do that to a mere Beta, what could he do for an Omega?

 

Gavin felt his dick twitch in his soiled shorts and right then he knew he had a problem.

 

o0o

 

“There you are,” Dan beamed, snagging him by the hip and pecking a kiss on his lips. “We're filming that flaming hand thing today. You ready to go up in flames?”

 

Gavin nodded and followed him inside, feet kind of dragging behind him.

 

“I've got the phantom set up in the shop already and I want to test the gel.” Dan snagged his lab coat off the hook and tugged in on, bouncing on the balls of his feet as the thought of how cool their finished product was going to look like. “I bought four different kinds and I have no idea which one will be the best on camera. I say we take turns, re-watch it, compare notes and all that rubbish.”

 

Gavin slowly pulled on his own. He felt disconnected from the entire thing and was happy to let his partner rattle on about it.

 

“Can I be on the finished product?” Dan's smile faltered as he looked the younger man over. “Gav? You alright there?”

 

“What are we doing?”

 

“The fire trick?” Dan offered hesitantly.

 

“No, mate, I mean right now.” He kind of tossed out his arms to indicate everything around them. “Us. Are we just mucking about or what?”

 

“Oh.” The Alpha leaned against the table. “I was wondering when we'd get to this.”  


“Fuck you,” Gavin spat. “You just waitin' to get rid of me or something? Go off with all those Omega birds who are always hitting you up?”

 

“Though I'm kind of insulted that you think I'd fuck around with them while we're together, this isn't about them or me,” Dan insisted. “This is about that American Alpha, isn't it?”

 

“Maybe it's about _me_.”

 

The Alpha threw his hands up, palm out. “I'm not trying to piss you off. I just know you talk about him a lot and you're always Skyping and texting.”

 

Gavin realized how selfish he was coming off. “I...I wasn't trying to make you jealous or anything.”

  
“I wasn't. I understood,” Dan promised, waving him over. “Get over here.”

 

Gavin moved to stand in front of the Alpha, letting him run his hands down his arms. It was nice but it didn't give him all those pleasant hums and flutters in his belly like it did when Geoff touched him.

 

“It's just not clicking, is it, love?”

 

Dan's voice was tender and sweet and it made everything that much harder. Gavin shook his head. He could feel the first sting of tears. His friend didn't look any better with the high flags of color on his cheeks. He got all blotchy when he was trying to suppress mushy emotion stuff.

 

“That's fine.” The Alpha's fingers slid under his palms, holding his hands up, blunt thumbs rubbing along the fine tendons. “We are _much_ better at being friends, don't you think?”

 

Gavin felt some of the tension uncoil in his chest. “You'll still want to be friends?”

 

“Idiot,” Dan scoffed playfully, squeezing his hands. “Who the hell else am I going to talk to? No one stays around for more than a week before pissing off. But I want a promise, yeah?”

 

“What?”

 

“You'll introduce me to some of those American friends of yours. The way you go on about them, they've got to be worth it.”

 

o0o

 

_What time is it?_

 

Geoff looked up at the clock. “Jesus.”

 

He was way too old to be staying up until three in the morning. Stupid, addictive _Borderlands._ He didn't even like it that much but he'd sat down at ten promising to only play for an hour to see if there was anything worth filming and now he was more than halfway through the game with more achievements than he could shake a stick at.

 

Just as he was powering down the Xbox his phone started to ring. He polished off his beer before picking up the device. He nearly dropped the bottle when he saw who it was. The kid never called this late unless it was a serious reason. Usually they would just text so this had to be something important. He sat back down on the couch and answered it, bracing himself for anything.

 

“Hey, Gavin.”

 

“ _G-Geoff? I'm 'soory I called so late. I jus' missed you so much, man. And I kinda' ended it with Dan today and he was real great about it and I feel like such an arse. I didn't put myself out there, you know? I didn't really give him anythin' worth investing in or whatever those shitty girl magazines tell you to do._ ”

 

The boy sounded halfway to crying and was oh-so-clearly drunk as fuck. He wasn't sure what to say and a sob filled up the silence.

 

“ _I wanna' come home._ ”

 

“Shhh, Gavers, kid, it's alright,” Geoff cooed into the receiver. “I want you to take a few deep breaths for me and put your beer away. You sound like you've had enough.”

 

“ _You've had enough_ ,” he replied petulantly.

 

“You don't have to get all worked up.” The reassuring, pacifying tone made the Omega's breath shudder out before the sounds died off. “Don't worry about anything. We'll get you here. You can come back.”

 

“ _I can? Like, right now?_ ”

 

“If you wanted to, sure,” he tried not to laugh at the bewildered tone. “We all miss you and a lot of things are different now but my garage is still open. Just like I promised.”

 

“ _Oh thank God_ ,” he moaned over the line, sniffing as he tried to get himself back together. “ _I-I'm really drunk, Geoff. Can you just...talk to me a bit more? Talk me to sleep like you used to do when I was there?_ ”

 

About an hour later, Geoff was settling into bed knowing an English Omega across the sea was out like a light. He closed his eyes and settled in but he quickly realized there was something digging into his back. He growled and shoved a hand under himself to fish it out. It was Michael's DS. He scoffed fondly and moved to set it on the side table but stopped when he realized he was going to have to tell Michael about Gavin coming back. His feisty Omega had thrown such a huge fit when he found out Geoff had proxied Gavin. There was one thing sharing him with Lindsay and (soon) Ray, but Gavin was his special kid. In more ways than one. He'd have to sit him down and explain it really slowly and really carefully. He didn't need Michael blowing the fuck up.

 

“Oh shit.”

 

Gavin didn't know about Michael at all. They hadn't really talked about it with his little jealous biting about Dan all the time. Should he tell him before he came back? Should he sit them both down together and explain everything? Maybe, hopefully, ignore it?

 

Either way, he was going to be kissing ass.

 

Somewhere, for sure, Griffin was laughing at him. Betas were so much easier.

* * *

**Hope you guys are enjoying it this far. It's fun to write all wonky wibbly-wobbly out of sequence like this.**

 

 


	9. Ryan and Ray I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ray knows he's being weird and creepy about it, but Ryan's worth it

 

_**([fanart ](http://emono-omae.tumblr.com/post/89382724971/so-im-writing-an-omegaverse-fic-with)by [buttsmut](http://buttsmut.tumblr.com/tagged/paddock))** _

 

* * *

 

The back room was like a warehouse. There were no walls to give all the plebs their own offices so paper Asian whorehouse doors were put up to cut it up into rough, unfair pieces. Towards the far wall, Ryan and Lindsay's official desks sat side by side. While Ryan was facing the door, Lindsay faced away toward the other way. With their headphones in place it was almost like being alone. One of the whorehouse doors was pulled in front of them to give them a modicum of privacy but it stopped short halfway up Ryan's desk. It left him exposed but with all the monitors in front of him he didn't really care.

 

Ray checked his watch and looked up just in time for one of the editor he'd been waiting for to walk out of the back room for lunch. He couldn't remember the guy's name but he always took the entire hour and (more importantly) his desk was right next to the entrance. Giving a last look around to make sure no one was paying attention to him, Ray snuck through the door and immediately hid by the editor's little paper wall. It had taken him a while to figure out the best angle for his creepy hobby but after like two months he had a great routine. No one gave a shit about the people in the back room so he'd never been caught.

 

He’d probably die in embarrassment if they realized what he was doing.

 

Feeling safe, Ray pushed back his hood and moved into place. The crack in the panels gave him a sweet spot where he couldn't be spotted from the desks but he could easily see his target. He sighed and settled in for the long haul.

 

This was the best part of his day.

 

Ryan had thick headphones clamped over his ears and there was a pinch between his eyebrows as he poured all his energy into fixing whatever script shit Geoff had been bitching about earlier. He was wearing a dark green shirt and Ray had tried three times this morning to compliment him on it but every time he’d just swallowed his tongue and walked away. The words had fucked up in his head and his stomach had twisted up. So instead of making some kind of move – any move, because right now he was standing still – he’d just got nauseas and had to sit down for a while.

 

Why couldn’t he just man up and talk to him like a human being instead of making all their communication an exchange of sarcasm and insults? It was the international language of all gamer boys everywhere but that didn’t help when he was trying to engage Ryan in something more, you know, substantial.

 

 _God, I’m even stupid in my head_.

 

Ryan leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, fingers laced behind his head. Ray smiled and buried his hands in his jacket, a little thrill of adrenaline making them twitch nervously. This was the only time he could look at the man as long as he wanted without getting all weird and nervous that people were noticing and judging him. Ryan was a desirable Alpha. Two degrees, high-end video game knowledge, computer skills for days, and he was damn funny. 

 

While Ryan took a little break to breathe and think about the problem on the screen, Ray let himself get a little lost in one of his little fantasies where he’d already found out what his status was and he didn’t have to hide anymore. If anyone found out about his dumb crush he’d be the laughing stock of Rooster Teeth. He was unpresented, a social nobody. The guys never teased him about it but he felt like the elephant in the room almost all the time.

 

Ryan was just such a cool guy.

 

_And he smells like the bread my mom used to make from scratch when I was little. Except I want to fuck it._

 

That sound so wrong but he didn’t care.

 

He wondered what he smelled like to Ryan. Scratch that – he wondered what he would smell like after he presented. If he turned out to be a Beta (which he strongly assumed he was going to get stuck with) it wouldn’t matter, but if he was an Omega…he would give his left nut to turn Ryan’s head when he walked by. To make him hard, to drive him crazy. He knew if he scored into being an Omega, maybe he would stand a chance against the internet groupies and the random girls (and occasional guys) he saw the Alpha disappear with at lunch. And he could only imagine what it was like at bars.

 

Ray was too busy admiring the flex of the Alpha’s arms to hear the screech of Converse on the floor and the creek of a door behind him opening up. He jumped and squeaked when a hand landed on his shoulder and a head popped up beside his own.

  
“What the fuck we lookin' at, Ray?” Michael asked, squinting between the panels of the whorehouse wall. The younger tried to squirm away and think of an excuse but his movements kind of made the wall skid noisily. He blushed and ducked away, staggering past the paper and right into the line of fire. Michael followed and was looking curiously between the makeshift office and Ryan's desk, a smirk growing on his face. “Oh, wow. Oh man.”

 

This caught the Alpha's interest and he kind of just blinked at the two of them. Ray felt his cheeks flaming and he knew he looked like an idiot standing in the middle of the floor. People's chairs were moving to see what the commotion was about. Every set of eyes burned into him. He responded the only way he could think of: He ran.

 

Ray moved as fast he could without full-sprint running, the strange behavior chalked up by passerbys as usual Achievement Hunter bullshit. He got back to their office and threw himself into his seat, turning so his back was to the door and drew his legs up into the chair. His heart was beating hard enough to hurt and his breath was ragged and kind of scratching his lungs. He was reminded once more how out of shape he was. Just another reason he was being stupid thinking Ryan would ever want him.

 

“Dumb, stupid, dumb, dummy,” he muttered into his knees, curling tight on himself as his body slowly calmed back down. He needed to get his shit together or he was going to fuck up this job too.


	10. Geoff and Michael IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael finds out about Gavin.
> 
> “Who is this – this – this fucking galloping mental patient!?”

**These are posted out of sequence. Don't like that? That's perfectly fine. Check out the[linear link post](http://emono-omae.tumblr.com/post/99261946051/timeline-for-id-like-it-better-if-i-could-win-at-it) here on my blog to see everything in order.**

* * *

 

 

Geoff rushed by the door with a phone glued to his ear. “What the hell happened?”

 

Michael got to a good place to stop and chucked his headphones. He followed the scent trail of distress all the way towards the back of the office where Ryan and some of the other behind-the-scenes people lived. It was kind of a warehouse space with a high ceiling that somehow swallowed up noise. It was a great place to go to have a moment of privacy.

 

Michael walked up to Ryan's desk, nose in the air. “Did Geoff go by here?”

 

The blonde Alpha ticked his finger in the air towards where some of the more expensive equipment was boxed and stacked. “He was on the phone.”

 

“Yeah, yeah. Tell me somethin' I don't know.”

 

Michael hunted the Alpha down to the back of the room but ducked behind a box once he realized he sounded angry. He kind of cocked his head and listened in.

 

“Gavin, I swear to God, I'm going to beat the shit out of you!” Geoff growled into the phone as he glared up at the ceiling. “How much plastic?”

 

The Alpha slapped a hand over his face. “Three pieces? In your thigh? Jesus, Gav, do you have any idea how badly you could have hurt yourself? Where the hell was Dan?”

 

There was a small pause before the man shrieked, “ _Filming?!_ ”

 

Michael cringed at the furious tone.

 

“How many times have I told you to be careful?”

 

“Safety goggles didn't protect your fucking leg, did they!?”

 

“What the hell do you mean you're not even going to release the video? You got hurt, there might as well be something out of it!”

 

All at once the Alpha got quiet and his voice softened up. It was filled with the same tenderness that Michael got when he was getting worked up about something stupid.

 

“I'm not angry. I know you're probably doing that puppy dog eyes thing but I can't see that. I didn't mean to yell, Gavvers. You're just such a shit,” Geoff chuckled quietly to himself. “As long as the doctor said you're fine. Did they give you pain killers? Yeah, I've heard of that kind. Double check to make sure they won't fuck with your suppressants. _Oh_.”

 

The Alpha made a strange expression. “You've stopped taking them? For how long? Yeah...yeah, I guess it is healthier to let your body relax and produce natural hormones and stuff. No, no, I believe that. The doc's right. He knows best.”

 

The tip of Geoff’s sneaker tapped off the floor. “So...is Dan helping you through it?”

 

The Alpha flinched violently but he didn't verbally waver. “No, it's good you have someone there for you. Just remember to stay hydrated and everything, alright? And if he doesn't take care of you properly, text me and I'll fly out there to kick his ass. Yeah. Call you at the end of the week. You're such an idiot, shut up.”

 

Michael bailed before the Alpha could catch him. His steps burned a war path all the way back to the shared office. He grabbed Ray's chair and spun it around until they came face to face, the younger looking terrified as his headphones were ripped off his head and tossed on the table behind him. The controller was smacked to the floor before his collar was grabbed and he yanked them nose to nose.

 

“What the fuck is a ‘Gavin’?”

 

Ray looked at Jack but the Beta dragged his thumb across the line of his neck. “Some help you are.”

 

He gave him a sharp shake. “Hey! I fucking asked you a question!”

 

“Jeez, dude, hands off the merchandise.”

 

Michael let him go but he braced his hands on each side of the chair arms. Ray kind of swallowed and sunk into the leather to try and put some distance between them but his friend wasn't having it.

 

“Gavin kind of works here. Sort of. He's a really cool English dude. Don't you listen to the podcasts?”

 

“Why the hell would I?”

 

“Then you'd know who he was,” Ray protested, frowning. “Burnie had him shipped over from the UK and he stayed in Geoff's garage. He left, like, a week before you came here. No one really talks about him a lot because we don't...”

 

“We don't want to upset Geoff,” Jack finished, trying to end the conversation before it got out of hand.

 

“You know what? Come here.” Ray managed to get up without pissing Michael off anymore and went over to the older man's controller. He brought up a window and took them to YouTube, clicking on the most recent video. Michael crowded in next to him and glared at the screen as it loaded up.

 

“The fuck is this?”

 

“Just be patient for, like, five seconds.”

 

Two guys appeared on screen. A floppy haired skinny guy started talking. ' _For the sake of a video, I've decided I'm going to let you shoot me with the most dangerous weapon known to man._ '

 

“See? That's Gavin.”

 

Michael got the gist really quick. These two guys filmed things in slow motion, and by the Recommended Category on the side they did it a lot with tons of different things. It wasn't exactly a long video but it was kind of cool in its own way. He studied the guy's clothes and face, the line of his body, listened to him talk. When he did the Matrix maneuver, a tan expanse of hip was revealed and it made the gamer lean a little closer to the monitor. A trail of hair came up from the low seam of his pants and disappeared under his dark coat. At the end he was all over the other guy, their body language giving them away. Michael took it all in, eyes quickly darting back and forth to soak in every detail. The screen went dark as the playlist set up the next video.

 

“So?” Ray prompted, eyebrows raised.

 

If their lives had been a Miyazaki movie, Michael's hair would've puffed up and his body would have been bristling. His face colored up and his shoulders tensed, fingers shaking briefly before he clenched them into fists.

 

“Uh, maybe we should close the door?” Jack offered, wheeling back from his desk to get for it.

 

The sound of a breath being taken was the only audible warning they had before the screaming started.

 

“Who the fuck is this idiot?! Look at him! He's all fucking lanky and his hair looks like a bird shits in it! His fucking nose could shelter a family of four! And that accent! _Jesus-tap-dancing-Christ_! If I had to listen to that stupid fucking accent for one more minute I was going to punch a _God damn baby_ in the face with a spike! He sounds like he's got marshmallows stuffed down his throat! He sounds like he doesn't have any fucking sense in his stupid fucking fat head!”

 

The words rang through the room and down the hall. Dozens of employees cringed and ducked away, recognizing Michael's real anger from his forced brand.

 

“Stupid fucking _fuck_!” Ray backed out of the way just in time to avoid the swift kick that took out the older gamer's chair. The furniture smacked into the wall so hard it left a shallow hole.

 

Geoff stepped into the doorway, glancing between the chair and the splintered plaster and his Omega. “Michael, what the hell?”

 

“Who – the _fuck –_ is this guy?” Michael pointed at the screen where _The Slow Mo Guys_ was playing once more. Gavin's voice spilled out of it as prepared himself to get shot with a paint gun on bare skin. ' _Make sure you hit the button. Because if we have to do this again, I will go mental._ '

 

Geoff made a face but he didn't say anything.

 

The paint gun went off in the video and Gavin squawked and started running around the yard like a wounded bird. He cried out and came in and out of screen, high-stepping the pain out.

 

Michael sneered at it. “Who is this – this – this fucking galloping mental patient!?”

 

The Brit made high, breathy moan that caught the attention of the couple. They both stared at the circular paintball wound before they locked eyes again.

 

“That's something we need to talk about. Alone.”

 

“Oh really? Really, _bitch_? We need to talk about – ”

 

Michael's tongue tripped over itself when the facts fell together. The guy's soft looking hair, the submissive signs next to the other guy, the way he held himself. It was pretty damn obvious. Like it had been waved in his face. By the look on Ray and Jack's faces, they knew too.

 

“ – this _Omega_ that apparently stayed in your garage.”

 

“For fuck's sake,” the Alpha groaned.

 

“Oh yeah, your caught,” Michael spat, grabbing his coat and shoving past his boss. “Fuck you guys, I'm going home.”

 

“Michael?” Geoff tried to snag his arm but the boy was fast. “Michael!”

 

o0o

 

Michael only got to pout and huff and generally throw a fit in his little apartment for three hours before someone (guess who) knocked at his door. He threw down the rest of his sour, cheap whiskey before he got up off the couch. His dude in _Resident Evil_ got mauled to death but he didn't care. He unlocked and opened the door but didn't spare the Alpha a glance before he stormed back to his seat.

 

He respawned and started playing to the tune of Geoff sighing and relocking the door.

 

“I should make you get the fuck out.”

 

Geoff sat down beside him, shedding his jacket and tossing it on the back of his couch. He wanted to put an arm around the Omega and nuzzle into his neck but he knew it was a high risk he'd get socked in the jaw. “I've been trying to think of how to tell you about him.”

 

“I bet.”

 

Geoff put his hand on top of the controller and pushed down. At first Michael jerked away and hissed at him but after a stern look he paused and set it down. The younger man sat back and crossed his arms over his chest, kicking his socked feet up on the table and shaking a pile of games stacked on the corner.

 

“So,” he grit out through clenched teeth, “Who's Gavin?”

 

Geoff settled him in for a long story. “Gavin is – was – an Omega I took care of and watched over for about a year. He _did_ live in my garage room and we were really close. I actually wish you two could have met but he left a bit before you flew in. He lives in England now and he’s dating an Alpha named Dan.”

 

“That guy he was feeling up on in the vid?”

Geoff chewed the side of his lip. “Yeah. That's him. He's a decent guy.”

 

He couldn't miss the shadow that passed over his boss's face. “You were close. The fuck does that mean? You guys were friends?”

 

He nodded. “Really good friends.”

 

“Did you fuck him?”

 

“No, never,” the Alpha swore. “I wanted you to understand that more than anything else. It was just the usual touching stuff. We never took it any further.”

 

“Oh good, you two were just rolling around together and mixing scents. Yeah, no big deal!” Michael couldn't reign in his snarl but he managed to level his voice out. “Did you _want_ to fuck him?”

 

Geoff wasn't sure what he wanted him to say but he decided the truth was the best angle. “He was too young. It didn't feel right. I'm is proxy-Alpha here in America. Fuck, Michael, I was there when he presented. He crawled into bed with me shaking and covered in first slick like he'd just killed someone. You can't just _not_ care about someone you were that close with.”

 

“You _care_ about him.” Michael rolled the stupid word around on his tongue. “More than me?”

 

He knew he sounded like a little jealous bitch but he felt like it had to be said. Geoff did one of those Alpha hums that tuned in to his dumb Omega brain and made him relax. The older man moved in along his side and tucked a leg between his own, and arm weaving around his waist while the other went over his shoulders. A nose dug into his curls and down along the back of his ear.

 

“It's different with you,” Geoff vowed, kissing the shell of his boyfriend's ear in what he hoped was a sweet way. “I turned him down.”

He ran his hand down the Alpha's arm, letting himself be cuddled into. “Hm? Why?”

 

“I've never really figured that out,” Geoff mused, frowning while he ran his beard down the other's sensitive neck until it prickled. “He asked but it felt like I was stealing him. I was the only Alpha he'd ever had. It wasn't fair.”

 

“And, what, you're not stealing me?” Michael complained even as he craned his head back a bit to give the man room. “I was a hot item on the market, buddy. I had options and shit. A lot of hot ass Alphas want a piece of this.”

 

Geoff grabbed him by the leg and hauled him up until his back landed on the couch cushions. He bitched but his cock throbbed at the sheer strength of the action. Geoff looked docile and artsy and very much like an alternative 'dad', but there was Alpha muscle laced into every inch of him. His legs were hiked up around the man's hips and he went with it, locking his ankles and wrapping his arms along the man's shoulders. Teeth pressed into his throat but they didn't hurt. It was just a showy tried-and-true act of dominance that always made blood pump a little hotter.

 

“Call me greedy, but I want you all to myself.”

 

“Then fucking show me.”

 

A kiss quickly turned into so much more. Michael's jeans and underwear lay discarded on the hardwood. His shirt was rucked up beneath his arms to expose the bitten, rosy swell of his nipples. Geoff's mouth was busy sucking a matching red mark at the base of his throat while two fingers were buried inside his Omega's hot hole.

 

“Want me to make it up to you, baby?” Geoff's thumb brushed against the sensitive skin behind his balls to make his hips jerk. Michael nodded and whispered a little _please, Daddy_ before he was empty and flipped onto his stomach. He draped his arms over the end of the couch and settled his cheek into the smooth material. Insistent fingers curled along the inside of his thighs and parted them, exposing his entrance to the man's gaze.

                                                  

He was halfway toward getting off and thoroughly wet from Geoff's tongue when his moan trailed off into a savage growl, a sound echoing his Omegan ancestry. His Alpha paused, palm petting along the younger man's flank to try and calm whatever had raised his hackles.

 

“Gavin's a fucking stupid name anyways.”

 

Geoff really does his best not to laugh for fear of getting a karate chop to the throat.

 

After Michael was well and truly fucked out, he still managed to smack his boss upside the head. “Don't laugh while you're eating me out, asshat.”

* * *

**So far, Geoff and Michael are my favorite to write. I don't know why. I can't wait to give them Gavin :)**

 


	11. Ryan and Ray II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ray gets a haircut.

The moment Ray entered the office, everyone was staring at him. For once, he didn't mind. For once, he'd done it on purpose. The haircut had been a spur of the moment thing but he liked it. It kept him from looking like a twelve year old kid and he really dug it, at least for a while. But with every hour that passed he was feeling more and more self-conscious about it. It wasn't long after lunch before he pulled his hood up and started ignoring any comments about it. Eventually Michael and Jack went back to their own shit and left him alone.

 

Ray started getting his gear ready to record a _Things to Do_ but stopped when he heard someone coming up behind him. He sighed and got ready to tell them to fuck off but when they cleared their throat he knew instantly who it was. He tipped his head back and spotted Ryan leaning lightly on the back of his chair, an easy smile on his face.

 

“Hey, Ray.”

 

“H-Hey.”

 

“I heard you got your hair cut.” Ryan nodded toward the hood. “Can I see?”

 

“Uh, well,” he stalled, skimming a hand along the back of his hood, “It's stupid. I think I made a mistake. It's no big deal.”

 

Ryan knelt down beside him. “I'm sure it's fine. I mean, I'm going to see it eventually, right?”

 

Ray opened his mouth to protest but wisely snapped it shut. He didn't have any good excuses and they both knew it. The material slowly fell down his head until it bunched at the back of his neck, exposing him. He busied his hands with untangling the wire of his controller as he braced himself for the silly comments. Ryan was, like, the _one_ person he couldn't handle getting shit from. One off-handed comment could send him into a full day withdraw and he hated that the Alpha had that much power over him.

 

Knuckles grazed the shaved part of his head, the smooth skin pale and super sensitive. He flinched and the hand drew back. Ray looked to Ryan with no small amount of surprise. The older man's smile was wider now, pleased.

 

“I like it,” Ryan admitted. “You look older.”  


“You think so?” He touched where his the skin was still tingling. “I was hoping it would.”

 

“It worked.” He raised his fingers questionably. “I shouldn't have just touched you but it looks really cool. Can I...?”

 

Ray realized what he meant and perked up, offering his head. “Yeah...uh, yeah, go ahead.”

 

“Thanks.”

 

Ryan entire hand ran over the shaved part. His palm was calloused and hot, his surprisingly rough touch sending little tremors through his shoulders and down his back. He hadn't realized his scalp was linked directly to his dick.

 

“It's so smooth,” he whispered, sounding a little surprised.  “If you need any help, you know, shaving it, I could do it. I used to shave my brother's all the time.”

 

Ray was about to heartily agree but Lindsay came to the door and hurried waved at Ryan. “Hey! Hey! Hey!”

 

The Alpha stood up and raised an eyebrow at the redhead's frantic gesturing. “Yes?”

 

“There's stuff.” She pointed at the door, mouth strained in a grimace. “Like, _stuff_ stuff. It's due and I have no idea how to finish it. Honestly? I broke it. I broke it and I'm sorry and come fix it _please._ ”

 

Ray just smiled like an idiot and watched him go, all the words sucked out of him.

 

Maybe it wouldn't be so hard to get Ryan's attention after all.


	12. Ryan and Ray III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ray gets teased too much about being unpresented and Ryan helps him calm down.
> 
>  
> 
> Spoilers for Let's Play: Minecraft, Episode 27

“Oh, are we starting, by the way?”

 

“Yeah, he's waiting for you to scream 'let’s play'.”

 

“LLLLLLLLLL-ETS PLAY...Minecraft again.”

 

They were fucking around, as usual, but this time was special. Ray felt a certain pressure to be extra funny with Ryan in the room on the couch with his special set up all around him. It was only the second or third time he'd joined them and it was still intoxicating to have the Alpha's scent slowly fill the room and mixed with the ones that his animal brain considered _pack_. Unfortunately, like every other time in his life when he wanted things to go well, it all went to shit really quickly.

 

It started after he'd pissed off Gavin and the Brit started fencing him in to his own house.

 

“Is Ray boxing Gavin in?” Jack asked, trying to see what was going on through his view instead of screen-looking.

 

“No, we're fine,” Ray spoke up, furiously tapping out the fences almost as fast as the man could put them up.

 

Ryan glanced up at the the other monitors but quickly looked back down. “I can see it. Looks like Gavin's got Ray locked up over there.”

 

“Guys,” Geoff groaned in exasperation, “The pig thing. We're doing the pig thing, come on.”

 

“Oh good, for a second I thought we were having some Omega slavery over there,” Michael tisked. “That's a Class A felony, man. It's like a mandatory forty year sentence. More than one Omega in your basement, here in Texas, maybe even a death penalty.”

 

“Too bad you didn't get Geoff, because I just learned that it's only like ten years if you imprison an Alpha,” Gavin chimed in. “You lot in the states seem to be bit more lenient when it comes to cracking down on Alpha-victim crimes.”

 

“Because we're big strong manly men and if we fuck up and get ourselves captured, it was probably are own fault. Right Ryan?” Geoff joked half-heartedly, full concentration on the fence he was trying to build.

 

“Uh, sure.”

 

“So what's the charge for keeping me in here?” Ray laughed, still punching the fence as quickly as he could smash the button.

 

Michael shrugged. “Oh, you? Unpresented? Fucking nothing.”

 

Ray turned in his chair and looked at the Omega, afraid the hurt showed on his face. When Michael didn't make a move to apologize he just went back to the game, pushing down his old insecurities. It was a joke, it didn't matter. Michael was known for being a dick.

 

But then Geoff, the only Alpha in his life, chimed in almost absently. “Okay, pick a pig. Me first, then Ryan, then the boys, Jack, then Ray.”

 

Ray watched the others swarm the field. “What the hell? Why am I last?”

 

“Alphas, Omegas, Betas, and then you,” Geoff repeated, “That's how the world works. Get the fuck in or get the fuck out.”

 

Ray hunched down into his chair. He knew it was just the boys being boys, Achievement Hunter ran on sarcasm and cheap coffee and Red Bull. Even Geoff's own Omega got shit on all the time and the guy was technically their boss. He knew that when Geoff's face was blank and his voice was monotone, like it was now, it meant the Alpha wasn't paying attention to what was going on around him or what was pouring out of his mouth. Geoff had always gone out of his way to take care of him like he was an Omega but the blatant disregard for his status, the way he put everyone in front of him so easily, made his stomach churn.

 

Then it got personal.

 

“I've got all these fucking roses now! _Ugh_.”

 

Ray snickered at the older boy's exasperated tone. “It's pretty. Consider them flowers of motivation. They'll inspire you to fight better.”

 

“You with the fucking roses,” Michael muttered angrily, trying to whack Ryan off his pig.

 

Gavin chuckled lightly. “Well, when you've got no status, you've got to have some kind of gimmick.”

 

“Hey!” Ray started jovially before his voice dropped hard to a growl, “Go fuck yourself.”

 

Gavin was still laughing. “Don't be so sore, boy. It's not my fault you're flower hasn't bloomed. Get it? Like roses? That's just bad genes, yeah?”

 

“What if he never presents?” Jack mused loud enough for the mic to pick up, eagerly chasing a pig on screen. Ray visibly flinched but Michael didn't see and it was him who dropped the final nail in the coffin.

 

“Nah, Jack, he's not that big of a freak.”

 

On screen, Ryan won the match.

 

Michael turned to wink and smile at Ray but the younger boy had already shoved off his mic and tossed his headphones on the table. He got tangled in his chords but he just kicked them away as hard as he could to dislodge his feet. He left the room with his head down.

 

Ryan threw down his controller so hard the plastic cracked. His makeshift desk rattled as it was budged out of the way so he could stand.

 

Jack picked up his head and moved one side of his headphones aside, “What was that?”

 

“Shut the fuck up, Jack,” Ryan snarled out in a tone none of them had ever heard before. It was the low tenor of a pissed off Alpha. It was so unexpected and potent that Gavin whined and ducked his head to show off the back of his neck, a purely subconscious gesture.

 

Even Michael, so commonly defiant, spoke in a small whisper. “We were just goofing around, Ryan, we didn't mean it.”

 

The Alpha sharp growl made him snap his jaw shut. He abandoned his victorious game and the recording and left to follow their youngest member.

 

Geoff looked between the two newly emptied chairs. “Okay. We went a little far with that. I think we all owe Ray an apology.”

 

“I think Ryan's giving him a proper apology right now,” Gavin hinted, waggling his eyebrows.

 

“Shut up, idiot!” Michael punched his shoulder. “We really hurt his fucking feelings. Did you see his face? Show some God damn pity or whatever.”

 

o0o

 

Ray ducked into the first supply closet he could find. He flicked on the light and realized it was the closet Burnie often used to sleep in when he didn't want to go home. There was a well-padded cot along the wall but thankfully the two Beta women they had come to clean every night had sprayed it down with scent neutralizer and the Alpha's smell was all but gone.

 

Not that he noticed because he was too busy pacing the length of the room with his arm pressed over his head. Thoughts raced as fast as his blood as he lost his lungs in a slowly increasing frantic pant.

 

_I'm wrong. I was wired wrong. I'm never going to present. I'm too old. Everyone presents before they're twenty-one, even Gavin, and I'm going to be twenty two in a couple months. My scent hasn't even changed for years. What if they're right and I never present? What if I'm a freak?_

 

The word brought a dry sob to his lips.

 

_And I just left in the middle of a recording. Oh God, Geoff's gonna' be so mad. He's going to realize I don't do anything useful and fire me. I'm going to be out of a job and I'm going to have to have go back to Gamestop. No, shit, they won't want me. I'm going to have to find a whole new place out in the real world where I can't get paid to play video games. No one will want to hire a freak without a class._

 

Ray could feel himself slipping into a full-blown panic attack. His hands were numb and kind of twitching and he couldn't really focus on anything. The door came open ( _oh God, I didn't lock it_ ) and a purely Alpha smell hit his nose. He whined and flushed even darker when it was Ryan who walked in. _Fuck, please, no, I'm a mess._

 

Ryan looked him over and sighed, closing the door and locking it behind him. “I was looking for you.”

  
Ray could only shake his head. _Don't. Please._

 

“You looked overwhelmed as hell,” Ryan spoke softly as he took off his zip hoodie and stepped closer to wrap the warm material around the younger man's shoulders. “It was a little too much, huh? Why don't you sit for a minute?”

 

Ray let the Alpha take him over to the bed and urged him down onto it. The hoodie was big and soft, material pooling at his shoulders. He brought the ends of the sleeves up to his nose and slowly inhaled, to get all of the fresh dough scent. The Alpha took the hood and raised it up over his head, encasing him in the delicious scent. Smothering his senses forced them to reset. He bent and hung his head between his knees, sleeve still pressed to his face to burn out everything else. He couldn't be bothered to consider his lack of status or his job security when a big hand was rubbing up and down his spine. There were two layers between them but it was more than he'd ever had before. He greedily drank in the sensation and before he knew it his breath was coming smooth and easy.

 

Ray reluctantly sat up and looked at the other from beneath his lashes. “Uh, thanks, man. I guess I'm just... _sensitive_ today.”

 

The word was yanked out of his mouth like a tooth.

 

“They were being assholes and you know it,” Ryan countered, hand still moving along his back. “They had no right to say that crap to you.”

 

He played with the strings of the hood. “They weren't exactly wrong.”

 

“Yes they were,” Ryan stated firmly, finger snagging on the inside of the hood and moving his head down until he met the Puerto Rican's eyes. “There's nothing wrong with your body taking a little longer to figure out what you are. You're a complicated guy, Ray.” Ryan's hand fell on the back of his head and shook him playfully, getting him to laugh. “It's no wonder your chemistry's struggling to keep up.”

 

“I'm completely not complicated!” he protested, playfully batting at the hold.

 

“Keep telling yourself that.” Ryan's eyes drifted over him again and this time he could feel it as clearly as he could feel the hand sliding back down to his spine. “How do you feel?”

 

His ears were burning. “Better. I...I appreciate this.”

 

“Panic attacks are no laughing matter. I used to have them a lot when I was younger.”

 

“You? An Alpha?”

 

His smile was abrupt and bright. “Alphas can have anxiety too. There's a lot of pressure on us too. Like Geoff said, we have to be strong and stalwart and we have to learn the difference between an Omega who just wants our knot and one who genuinely wants _us._ The same way Omegas have to learn between an Alpha who wants to control them and one who wants to protect them.”

Ray slowly zipped up the jacket, waiting to be told to stop but the order never came. “For what it's worth, man, I think you're pretty strong.”

 

The Alpha's hand paused on his back but Ray's fears were quieted when the man didn't question him about the statement.

 

“Do you, uh, want your jacket back?” he inquired, tugging at the side of the grey material.

 

“Nah, keep it,” Ryan replied, reaching out and helping to settle the jacket a little bit around the man's slighter frame. “It looks good on you, actually.”

 

“People are going to talk.”

 

“About what?” Ryan snorted, “And who cares?”

 

It was that easy. Ray had spent most of his life wandering what people thought of him and Ryan wiped all those expectations with five words. The rational part of his brain agreed. Yeah, who gave a fuck if he wore the Alpha's jacket? _Except it's like the most popular way to scent mark Omega's as potential mates, but, whatever._

 

“You're right. Fuck 'em.”

 

“That's the spirit.”

 

Ray got a little happy tingle in his stomach and he tried not to grin as he settled down into the bed. “I think I'll just stay here for a few more minutes. I can't get in any more trouble than I already am, right?”

 

Ryan nodded in agreement. “True. Mind if I stayed here with you?”

 

“Why?” he couldn't help but ask.

 

“To make sure you're okay.” The hand settled on his shoulder, the weight comforting. “And because I want to. Is that alright?”

_Oh God yes, please._

 

“Sure.”

 

o0o

 

When they walked back into the room, Gavin and Michael immediately came up to hug him. The Brit even nuzzled into his hair in a show of affection that warmed his heart. Geoff came up next but once he caught a whiff of _Ryan_ all over him and the coat he settled for a shoulder squeeze and an apology. And Jack with his big ol' heart practically tripped over himself trying to explain how sorry he was and how he shouldn't have said what he did.

 

“We're real 'soory, Ray. I was being a dumb.”

 

“We didn't mean it, man.”

 

“I just wasn't paying attention to the shit coming out of my face.”

 

“If there's any way we can make it up to you...?”

 

“Let's just finish the video, guys,” Ray waved them off, practically glowing with his confidence restored. “I wanna' try and win one round fairly before it's over.”

 

* * *

  
**I'm not even going to apologize for Ryan/Ray explosion. They are so cute and like NO ONE writes them.**


	13. Ryan and Ray IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ray gets weird about being around a lot of people for a long period of time. It was a stupid quirk about him that he'd never been able to change. But one Alpha doesn't mind.

The office usually cleared out at noon exactly like the plague itself had been announced. Ray declined the offers to eat with a polite smile but once he was alone he just slumped at his desk. Today was just a taxing day. He'd woken up tired and it seemed like Geoff had every big group event planned for the morning. He'd done three recordings in four hours and his meter for social interaction tolerance was through the roof. He needed to be by himself for a little while and recharge, even if that meant skipping lunch.

 

“Ray?”

 

He looked up and rushed to sit properly when he saw Ryan at the door. “Hey, Ryan. What's up?”

 

The older man smiled and kind of tossed his head to gesture down the hall. “Looks like everyone's gone. Do you want to grab lunch?”

 

 _Out of all the days to ask_. He'd been trying to ask Ryan out to lunch for weeks, and he'd been hoping for the man to ask him for even longer. He tried to get excited about it but he couldn't, not with the exhaustion that was seeping into his bones. He didn't have to force a smile like he had for the others but going out with him somewhere just made him want to bury under his desk.

“I don't really feel like going outside today,” Ray replied honestly, holding up his controller. “I'm just going to stay here and get some work done.”

 

Ryan frowned but nodded. “Sure. I get it.”

 

The Alpha left and Ray started to immediately berate himself. His first real shot and he blew it because he couldn't suck it up for an hour at some shitty fast food place. Now he was going to starve _and_ sulk. These big mood swings between hyper-social-overfriendly and tired-want-to-be-alone-in-the-dark was driving him crazy and fucking up his very few human relationships.

 

There was a good reason he'd never had a girlfriend before. Or boyfriend, but that was more to do with the fact that he'd never liked a guy before Ryan and that a male unpresented wasn't exactly prime dating material.

 

He was dragged out of his head by Ryan coming back to the door with an arm full of communal snacks and a plastic bag that Ray had seen before in his creepy stalking and he knew to be his personal munchie bag. The Alpha walked over and dumped the haul on the clean space between Michael and Ray's area on the long desk. He snagged Gavin's chair and dragged it over beside him, sitting and handing over a cold Coke. Ray accepted it, still surprised to see him here, and pulled a bag of chips into his lap.

 

Ryan looked at home with his usual casual air surrounding him. He took a bag of pretzels for his own and dug in with relish, cracking open his own can between handfuls. He seemed happy enough and it helped keep Ray's anxiety from flaring. The Alpha had the rare ability to calm him down and that was more than anyone else had ever done for him before.

 

“So what are you working on?” Ryan asked, looking over his set up.

 

“I-I just, uhm, the new _Call of Duty_.” His words fell apart and he could feel a blush building up on his cheeks. “I'm going to play it through once, get a feel for it. Geoff wants me to see if it's anything worthwhile on it. _Things to Do_ , _Let’s Play_ ideas, Easter Eggs, complicated achievements. Stuff, you know?”

 

“I do know,” Ryan agreed, referencing all the _Game Fails_ he had to edit. “I’ve never really played _Call of Duty_ when I was sober. Is it fun?”

 

“Hella.”

 

“You should teach me how to play. I know Geoff will want us all to jump in on one of these games and I’d like to have the advantage to pulverize the rest of them.”

 

Ray laughed at the ruthless glee in the man’s voice. “Alright. Sure. You could, like, come over and we could hang and play?”

 

_You fucking idiot, why did you say that? He didn’t mean it like that! He probably just meant here at work! Stupid, stupid, dumb-_

 

“That sounds good.” The Alpha waved his salty fingers at the screen. “Don't let me stop you. I'll be quiet, I promise.”

 

“Y-You don't have to.”

 

God, what was it about Ryan that made him collapse into a dumb school girl?

 

_His voice, how smart he is, the strawberry blonde color of his hair, that beard and how it's not real big it just looks like fur, those stupidly broad shoulders, or maybe anything else about him?_

 

It was kind of awkward at first but as the game booted up and he dulled the hunger in his stomach with excessively large mouthfuls of chips, it got easier. It helped that Ryan's scent was slowly filling the room and filling his nose and lungs until he was ready to start rolling around in it. It was quiet except for the game running as background noise.

 

There was a shake of food in a bag in his direction and he paused the game.

  
Ryan shook the bag again, grinning when the younger man looked at him questionably, “Want some?”

 

It was bag of chocolate covered nuts, the good brand. From the look on the Alpha's face, the offering meant more than it seemed. Ray tried to remember the Sex Ed classes in school that told them all about how back in the caveman days there were unspoken gestures that carried on in the wiring of their brains. Omegas sharing food with Alphas meant they acknowledged that they were in charge, but the other way around was-

 

_Oh my God, brain, shut the fuck up and take the nice gesture._

 

Ray took a few and popped them in the mouth with a small 'thanks' that made the other smile.

 

And that's how they spent their lunch, munching and watching _Call of Duty_ unfold on the screen.


	14. Ryan and Ray V

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ray has a weird kink.

Ray may or may not have developed a kink for Ryan’s voice. It was a dumb little obsession that he couldn’t shake. He shamelessly watched every AH video that had the Alpha in it just to get his fix. Who could really blame him? The Alpha’s voice was like the deep tones you heard on a cologne commercial – like that, but run over gravel. He could listen to the man read the damn dictionary. People always fawned over Gavin’s British inflection but he didn’t find it nearly as sexy as the deep timbre Ryan possessed.

 

If he was going to be honest with himself, it was a common occurrence for him to put a video in another tab and just kind of play one of the man’s informational videos as background noise while he edited. He’d almost been called out on it a few times but he was fast on the mouse.

 

_I am weird-borderline-creepy._

 

Ray hit repeat on the video for the third time that day and thought to himself, _Nope. I hit creepy._

 

o0o

 

“ _Ugh, I need food. Can anyone spot me? I’m at half a heart here._ ”

 

Michael wooted his victory over an innocent pig before he spoke up. “I got you, Jack. Here. Two pork chops courtesy of Oinky Mc-Fatass.”

 

Jack frowned, “Uh, I’m good.”

 

Ray rolled his eyes and high tailed it over to the kilt-skinned avatar. “Hold on, Ryan, I’ve got your back. And… _there_.”

 

He dumped a few cooked steak in front of the virtual character. Though the man was physically across the bulding, his relieved ‘ _thank you_ , _that would have been annoying’_ was clear in his ear.

 

“What the fuck? Wasn’t that Jack?”

 

“No, that was Ryan,” Ray corrected, speeding through his inventory to try and find the pickaxe he needed.

 

“Dude, how can you tell?” Geoff needed.

 

“Dude, how can you _not_?” Ray shot back defensively.

 

“Because they’re, like, Team Same Voice.”

 

“Whatever, man.”

 

At his desk, Ryan hid his grin from Lindsay.

 

* * *

 

**Okay, now I feel like we're all evened up. Gavin is coming back and we're going to see all that shit go down and I'm going to try and explain why Burnie's an ass. These are still out of sequence but I think they're going to start going in order here in the next few bits. Drop a line, tell me what you think. This is so much fun and I hope you guys are having fun too**


	15. Geoff, Michael, and Gavin I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael meets Gavin for the first time and there's sparks.

It was pitch black in Michael’s apartment except for the glare of the laptop on his lap. He was laying on his couch with two empty beers on the floor and another in his hand, head propped up on a pillow and wearing nothing but his boxers. The machine was warm on his stomach, almost too much, but he didn’t notice. His eyes were trained on the screen. He’d found a fan-made playlist of _The Slow Mo Guys_ on YouTube had been watching them for the better part of an hour. He knew it was probably unhealthy but he couldn’t seem to stop.

 

Michael took another drag off the bottle, teeth clinking off the lip. He’d told himself when he’d started watching these that it was only to learn all he could about Dan so he could talk about him at work and make Geoff jealous. The Alpha was hot enough, cocky even, but he was a little too young for his taste. He’d had his fair share of green Alphas trying to piss in a circle around him for a lifetime.

 

Unfortunately, it was the other one who he couldn’t stop watching. Gavin Free. The stupid fucking cockatoo. He was just some stupid big nosed kid until about ten or twelve videos in. They were filmed after he’d presented as an Omega, Michael was sure, because he got all soft in the right places and firm in the ones that mattered. He grew an inch and his hair feathered out in a ( _frustratingly easy_ ) bedhead. The few times he didn’t wear that bulky lab coat it could be seen that his chest and hips had filled out.

 

It was something only someone who’d stared at the same person for two years worth of videos would notice.

 

“What the fuck is it with this guy?” Michael growled to himself, finishing of his beer. “What the fuck does Geoff see in him?”

 

o0o

 

Achievement Hunter plus Kara, Gus, Burnie, and Joel were all gathered in the biggest conference room they had.

 

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

 

“Michael,” Gus scolded.

 

He crossed his arms over his chest. “He just gets to leave and come back after wanting to do other crap? That’s bullshit!”

 

Geoff laid a hand on his arm but he shrugged it off. “I know you’re not excited about this and it may not look like it, but Gavin coming back is a good thing.”

 

“He’s got all the skills we need,” Burnie pointed out, gesturing in a scrunchy motion with his fingers like the Brit’s talents were tangible. “He can work equipment, he’s funny, the fans love him, and he’s the piece we’re missing to put that cool Minecraft idea of Geoff’s into place. I don’t see a single downside.”

 

“Plus, we need a new generation for _Immersion_. And I think Gavin would be a great first pick.” Kara patted Gus’s arm. “No offense guys.”

 

“None taken,” Geoff and Gus echoed.

 

“We were getting too old for that stuff anyway,” the Alpha continued. “I’d rather scheme and plan shit than get waken up at four in the morning to eat turkey.”

 

“That was fun,” Burnie snickered.

 

“For you and the fans, yeah.”

 

Michael’s glare was vicious. “So, what, he’s going to be one of us? An Achievement Hunter? Just like _that_?”

 

“Along with you, Geoff, Jack, Ray, and Ryan,” Burnie replied coolly, Alpha tone hovering just underneath it, “Maybe even Lindsay if she stays on with us. We were thinking of a united little group. The fans will eat it up. You’ll do _Let’s Plays_ together and film behind the scenes stuff. It will be great.”

 

The Omega didn’t seem convinced.

 

“It’s a good idea,” Jack pushed. “I really think it’ll go over well.”

 

“Plus, we can add _The Slow Mo Guys_ to our list of channels,” Kara pointed out.

 

Burnie slapped the desk and Michael jumped, like he’d planned, and looked up at him. “And you know who’s the most excited about it? Matt. Matt – your boss – is in love with this idea and was the first to agree to have Gavin back.”

 

The Omega’s blood ran cold. “Are you threatening my job?”

 

“No! No one’s saying that.” Geoff shot a heated glance at Burnie before he scooted closer to his Omega and touched his hand. “The fans love you, Michael, and they love _Rage Quit_. It could only be better with both of you. We all think, including me, that you two would be hilarious together. He rarely gets mad at anything so he’s the perfect person for you to scream at.”

 

Michael’s jaw ticked, a warning.

 

“He’s coming back no matter what so I would just ask that you try and get comfortable with the idea. You don’t have to work with him if you don’t want to, no one would make you do that, but it’d be great to have you with the rest of us. If nothing else, it’ll be funny.”

 

“And if I kill him?” Michael snarled, teeth flashing angrily as he shoved the Alpha away so hard his chair wobbled, “And if I rip his fucking throat out with my teeth? Would that be _funny_ , Geoff? Would that amuse you?” He stood up, jolting the table and making the rest of them scoot back. “When I snap and bust his stupid face in, is that gonna get a chuckle? _Fuck all of you_!”

 

Michael stormed out in a rage that reddened his face and made people dodge him in the hall. He got back to his shared office and slammed the door, pacing only for a few moments before he screamed in frustration.

 

“Mother _fucker_!”

 

His foot lashed out and kicked Geoff’s desk, the paint cracking and spidering out in all directions. It wasn’t enough so he kicked it again, plaster giving way to reveal the dark insulation on the inside. It gave him little satisfaction but he did it once more just to make a big of a hole as possible.

 

Served him right.

 

o0o

 

Geoff took the gang to a long lunch, his treat, in hopes of giving his boyfriend enough time to cool back down. Ryan gave a parting _good luck_ before heading back to his desk. Geoff ushered the others towards their office with promises that it would all be okay. They did a quick game of rock-paper-scissors to see who would go first and Ray lost. The young gamer opened up the door, walked in, and immediately brought a hand up to his mouth.

 

“Holy shit.”

 

Jack and Geoff followed closely and their jaws fell when they saw the new, gaping hole behind their desks. Michael was sitting quietly as his own, beanie over his hair and arms tucked into his chest. He had his feet propped up on the desk and his eyes on the monitor where a freshly edited _Rage Quit_ playtested. He didn’t bother to acknowledge them.

 

“Michael, you can’t just-“ Geoff ran a hand over his face. “You can’t – the wall – oh my God. You’ve _got_ to stop this. If not for our poor office, then for the sake of your blood pressure.”

 

They were all plopping down in their chairs when the young gamer cleared his throat.

 

“I'm going to go with you.”

 

Geoff turned around in his chair and looked at the Omega, though he had his back to him. “I'm sorry?”

 

Michael huffed quietly. “You're going to go get Gavin at the airport, right? I want to go with you to pick him up.”

 

“Really?” the Alpha pushed. “That's a pretty big mood change.”

 

Dark eyes cut at him so sharply he cringed. “But I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.”

 

“Damn right.”

 

o0o

 

Geoff snatched Ray out of his conversation with Ryan and turned the boy around to face him. The younger Alpha flared his nostrils but didn't say anything.

 

“Come with us to the airport.”

 

“What? Me?”

 

“Yeah, it'll be fun,” Geoff lied. “Me, you, Michael, and Gavin. It'll be great.”

 

“I don't think that's your best idea,” Ryan stated, moving closer as if he was going to muscle between them. “He doesn't need to get involved in this shit storm.”

 

“Hey, hey, hey,” Geoff soothed, holding up his hands in surrender, “No shit storm. I promise.”

 

“You can't promise anything with someone like Michael,” Ryan realized how bad that sounded and made a face. “He's a good kid, he is, but he's a pistol, alright? He's going to go off. I saw the picture Jack sent me of the wall.”

 

“But Ray is really good at defusing a situation with humor,” Geoff pointed out, looking to the Puerto Rican with puppy eyes. “And it'd be really helpful to have you there. I'd consider it a personal favor.”

 

Ray chewed at the side of cheek for a moment before he nodded. “Yeah, I'll come.”

 

o0o

 

The airport was a buzz of activity. It was about lunch time and people were hungry and rushing from Point A to Point B with heavy looking suitcases and weather-worn faces.

 

Geoff was bouncing on the balls of his feet, hands shoved deep in his pockets as he looked over the heads of the crowd in search of one in particular. Michael and Ray flanked him with their DS's in their hands, battling each other in the newest _Pokemon_ game. It was more to keep Michael's mind off why they were there than to actually be fun and it was working. At least for now.

 

“There! There he is!” Geoff called before he took off at a run, disappearing into the weave of the crowd. Michael shut his DS with a sickening snap. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, shoving his hands into his front pocket. He'd chosen his outfit a little more carefully this morning; this hoodie was the tightest he owned, he knew the jeans he'd put on hugged his ass and thighs, and his hair was tossed as well as he could manage. He didn't have a lot of grooming skills but he was ready to bust out every trick he could think of to show off to this ( _potential rival_ ) new guy. The moment his Alpha had seen him this morning he'd been grabbed and kissed breathless, a hand on his ass showing him that his effort was more than appreciated. But Geoff had run off for another Omega and the world felt uneasy beneath his feet because of it.

 

The crowd thinned out, a scene unfolded, and a familiar blood-boiling sensation started thrumming through him.

 

Michael got to watch the moment Gavin's face lit up, the Brit squawking and launching himself at Geoff once he was in range. He was talking quickly, gushing all over the Alpha, and clung to him like a leech. Though he was loathe to admit it, the Omega was better looking than he'd been in the videos. That floppy near-mullet was cut but it was still fluffy and ruffled like he'd had fingers running through it all day. _That bastard_. Geoff slung the boy around and hugged him back just as hard, saying something that Michael couldn't hear.

 

And then Gavin kissed him.

 

Michael was seeing red though the contact was brief, chaste, a peck of affection. And to his credit, Geoff pulled back. But the way he did it...he laid a thumb on the seam of Gavin's lips and cupped his jaw, shaking his head. Words were exchanged and the Brit perked up and looked over to them.

 

“I'm going to pluck his fucking eyes out,” Michael growled under his breath.

 

Ray waved the two of them over. “Just keep smiling.”

 

“Fuck you.”

 

“As long as you keep smiling.”

 

Gavin hefted up his duffle and came at them at a run, the Alpha struggling to keep up behind him and not knock anyone over. Michael did try to smile but it felt more like a grimace. Gavin made another dumb noise and grabbed Ray, dragging him into a hug as they laughed and went on about how much they missed each other. Then the Omegas turned their attention to each other.

 

Gavin was practically liquid, like he was too much to contain in his skin and was threatening to bubble over at any minute. He was scanning Michael over but it wasn't in a way that felt threatening.

 

“Look at you,” Gavin breathed, then cleared his throat. “I'm Gavin.”

 

He grunted a greeting.

 

“I don't think we've met before,” the Brit continued. “Geoff said you're part of the team. Sorry I missed you, mate. Are you the _Rage Quit_ guy?”

 

“Yeah,” he grit out.

 

“What's your name again?”

 

 _This fucking guy._ “Michael.”

 

“Michael’.”

 

Michael winced at the how the Omega butchered his name. “It's My-kell.”

 

“Michael,” Gavin repeated slowly, the strain on the word in his stupid accent hinting that it wouldn't stick for long. “You're Geoff's Omega?”

 

His hackles rose. “Yeah. I am. What's it to you?”

 

“That's so brilliant!” Gavin surged at him and clung to him in a hug that nearly knocked the breath out of the gamer. “It's so good to meet you properly! Geoff hasn't said a word about you but this is the best surprise! Look at you!” The Brit grabbed his cheeks and smushed them together. “You're so bloody _cute_! And soft! He probably snatched you up in a hot minute, yeah? And look at all this.”

 

Michael pushed out a growl as the man ran his fingers through his hair, digits catching in the curls. “They're so bouncy and pretty. They're _red_ , for goodness sake. You're so _much,_ Michael! I've watched all your videos, they're tippity top. You've got a mouth on you but I never imagined you'd be so – _oof_.”

 

o0o

 

Geoff's mouth was a tight, white slash across his face as he carefully drove them home from the airport. Ryan had agreed to come pick Ray and Michael up and taken them back to the office. Gavin was in the seat beside him with a cup full of ice from a snack stand pressed to his red cheek. There was no way it wouldn't bruise. He was pouting and his feet were up on the dash in a childish manner that did little to soothe the Alpha's frazzled nerves.

 

“Why did he hit me?” Gavin whined, cheek a little swollen against his cheek from where the other Omega had clipped him in the jaw.

 

“What did you expect?” Geoff demanded wryly. “You put your hands on him, Gavin. You physically touched his face like an asshole. And you kissed me.” The Alpha blew out a sharp breath. “God, I knew I should have told you about him before you landed. I thought it'd be okay to wait. I'm so _stupid_.”

 

He slammed his palms off the steering wheel, causing the younger man to jump.

 

“But he _punched_ me, Geoff. And it really hurt.”

 

“I would've punched you too,” the Alpha spat. “You can't just do that to someone like Michael. He doesn't have a good lid on his anger and a worse filter on his mouth. Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe-”

 

“No, don't say that!” Gavin sat up, cup rattling against his face. “Don't send me back, Geoff! I know I shouldn't have jumped him like that but he's so bloody pretty! I didn't mean to make him angry, I promise. He's all rough and grouchy like a bear and I wanted to hug on him. It was stupid, yeah, but I couldn't stop myself. I swear I'll be better from now on. We'll be good friends, him and I. I know it.”

 

“You two? Friends? Gavin, he's hated you since he's heard about you. And that's my fault, it really is, but he's my Omega and I _have_ to side with him.”

 

“Have you claimed him?” Gavin pressed, brow furrowed as he tried to remember if he'd seen a bite on the young gamer's pale neck.

 

Geoff's cheeks colored but he didn't take his eyes off the road. “No, not all the way. We're just courting. But he's _mine_ ,alright?”

 

“He's lovely, Geoff.”

 

The low, breathy admission caught the Alpha's interest. Gavin was staring down at his feet with a glazed look in his eyes and his fingers twisted up in the bottom of his shirt. “You think so?”

 

“Yeah.” He bit down on the pink curve of his bottom lip, mind far away. “He seems so...he seems amazing and fierce and I just want to be friends with him.”

 

“Gavin,” Geoff sighed, shaking his head, “I don't think Michael wants to be friends. He thinks you're competition.” _He thinks you're after me._

 

“Then I'll just have to show him different, won't I?” Gavin challenged, slowly peeling the cup away to reveal the start of a vibrant bruise on his jaw. “I'll show him that we're best friend material and we'll hang out and he'll get used to me, I just know it!”

 

He doubted for just a moment. “Right? Do...do you think I can?”

 

His eagerness was catching. “Anything's possible, Gavvers.”

 

“See! There's a chance, yeah?” Gavin gushed excitedly. “He's a smart lad, he'll realize how matched we are. You'll be his Alpha and he'll be your Omega and I'll be a best mate to you both.” His breath hitched but his smile didn't fade for a moment. “A best _friend_ , I mean. Not like – well, you know. But this can be good. It'll just take some time.”

 

Geoff remembered the look on his boyfriend's face right before he decked the Brit to the floor with a single, solid punch. The fury on his face had been intoxicating. And terrifying. But Gavin had gotten away with something no one else had ever dared to do. If anyone else had tried that shit Michael’s wouldn’t have stopped at just a single hit.

 

“You know what? I believe you.”

 

Gavin beamed. “Well it's about time.”

 

* * *

**God, those three are adorable**

 


	16. Burnie II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What the hell is wrong with Burnie? 
> 
> (And: Michael and Gavin connect.)

****

 

**I had no idea Burnie was divorced before I wrote this so it's a bit more canon than I thought. I actually put it all down on paper away from the computer so I just kind of put a dash where his wife's name would be so when I looked her up properly I learned that they'd separated a while back. Just thought I'd throw my new psychic ability out there.**

* * *

 

Everyone loved Burnie. He could be insanely funny, he was a good friend, a great boss, and everyone knew he was the brain behind the operations (second to Geoff, though Gus was close). His wife, Jordan, was gorgeous and well-loved among the guys (and some of the Alpha girls) at the office. She was a beautiful Omega that would step into a room and fill it with the scent of spring. They were a handsome couple and no one ever saw them be any less than affectionate with one another. They were always arm-in-arm, nuzzling and scenting one another in public like they couldn't get enough. They'd shared bites and Jordan was known to spritz glitter over the scar to make it sparkle in the light. They were a proud, mated pair and they acted as the prime example of happiness for the building. They were who everyone turned to for advice. Whenever someone was unsure if getting into a status-appropriate relationship was too much to handle or too much responsibility, they looked to Burnie and Jordan and knew that all that courtship could be worth it.

 

Then Jordan left him and everything changed. She legally severed their bond and bought a collar that properly hid her scar, as was the custom for the rare situation where a mated pair decided to part. There was no excuse, no warning. The day the lawyer served him the papers at the office Burnie's face had fallen, his heart crushed in front of his friends smack in the middle of a meeting. It was cruel and, frankly, uncalled for. He'd completely collapsed on himself, folding under the metal strain of being ripped from his chosen.

 

Matt gave him leave for as long as he needed. Rooster Teeth was deprived of its head Alpha for months the content suffered, the energy changed, and everyone waited with bated breath. The Omegas that used to kind of look up to their boss didn't know what to do with themselves and ended up kind of fluttering around Kara and Joel in search of Alpha approval.

 

There were rumors of hospitalization and a bar fight but no one could confirm.

 

Geoff suspected what was coming long before anyone else did. He'd seen it before with his uncle. A bonded Alpha who was abandoned by their Omega could fall into a crippling depression, usually preceded by a rage that could result in lots of bloodshed. It was the most common road. It was rare enough for Omegas to leave the bond but even rarer than that was the Alpha slipped into an amplified rut that fine-tuned their baser instincts into the scent of every other possible mate. It was a hormone flux, a leftover response from their ancestors that powered an Alpha through the near-crippling trauma of a severed bite-bond. It was the scary bed time story that kept dedicated couples with doubts from taking that last step of happy-ever-after. The bonding process was lengthy, a deep connection that sewed together two people stitch by stitch until there was no empty space left. Breaking that was excruciating.

 

And the reverse? An Omega being abandoned? That was beyond brutal and ended in overdoses or at the end of a gun more often than not.

 

Geoff knew it to be true the day Burnie came back from his sabbatical with a burn scar over where his bite used to be. It was crude, like a knife had been super-heated and pressed into the flesh.

 

Burnie strut through the office a new man, and not exactly for the better. Glasses had been changed out for contacts, twenty pounds had been shed, and five more of muscle had been gained. He'd transformed into prime douchebag Alpha material, his relaxed smile now a cocky grin. It was clear after the first day that he had mutated drastically in three months. His humor turned sharp, biting, and his hands had gained a new urge to wander down the curves of spines and the swells of waiting asses. Before, he'd been blind to status but now it was all he acted on. Alphas were almost constantly challenged with posturing and harsh words and it caused a lot of unnecessary problems in the building. Betas were treated the same though it was obvious he looked down his nose at most of them. Gus, thankfully, was exempt and the old quality of Rooster Teeth material started churning out again. But Omegas...they were reduced to meat. Office eye candy at best. It was old fashioned and offensive but it was looked over. He was their friend, their boss – no one had lost any of that love for him.

 

And Matt, their CEO, a Beta, was left in the dark about his friend's attitude change.

 

o0o

 

Lindsay was the first one to have an incident. She'd been busy at her desk and the next thing she knew she had an Alpha crowding into her space. The come-on had been aggressive and disgustingly rude. She'd snapped and growled at him to back off the moment she knew what was going on but he'd refused the rejection. It had taken Joel and Barbara both stepping in to get him to leave her alone.

 

The only good thing to come of it was that once the scent turned sour (metaphorically) he seemed ready to let it go. Never the same Omega twice and all that.

 

“What is wrong with him?”

Geoff had never heard Ryan sound so genuinely murderous before and it kind of scared him. The Alphas were in the AH office with their heads together, the blatant groping of Lindsay at her own desk still fresh in their minds.

 

“I think he's just a little unstable right now,” Geoff replied honestly, gesturing toward his temple, “Like, in his head. Jordan really fucked him up, man. He's just doing that cave-Alpha-pissing-in-a-circle thing. You know we get all fucked up if our bonds get broken. It’s something we can’t understand unless we go through it. He just needs some hormone-correcting medication. He’ll see that soon enough.”

 

“That's no excuse. People go through traumatizing shit every day and don't sexually harass the Omegas they are in charge of.” The younger Alpha's eyes were fixed out the window, jaw set in a hard line as a he mulled around the idea of their boss being in some prehistoric rut. “If he lays one finger on Ray, I'll-”

 

Geoff's eyebrows shot up to his hairline. Though Ryan was s swallowing down the rest of his snarled words he still glanced at the other Alpha, uncertainty in his eyes. He (oh so carefully) placed a hand on the man's shoulder and put on a reassuring smile. “Ryan...the kid hasn't even presented yet. Out of everyone in the office, I think he's the safest. You've got _nothing_ to worry about.”

 

The double meaning made Ryan relax but it did little to ease the tension building in the office.

 

“Geoff...”

 

“It'll all work out. I know it will.”

 

o0o

 

Just a week later, Geoff ate those words.

 

o0o

 

“Michael.”

 

Said gamer popped up from the bottom cabinets, pushing his glances back up his face. “Oh. Hey, Burnie.”

 

The Alpha was leaning against the doorway of the break room with his arms crossed over his chest, displaying the new muscle in his arms. Getting no immediate reply, Michael went back to digging for a full lunch. He had a lot of editing to do and wanted to find something quick that Geoff wouldn't bitch about him for. All he had on the counter so far was an apple (that mixed color kind he loved) and a Rice Krispie treat. Not exactly well-balanced. He had moved on to the high cabinets when he realized his boss was getting closer. He pushed down the warning bells the action set off and continued his search for snacks. _He's straight, man, chill out._

 

“I can see Geoff hasn't put a collar on you. Hm, no bite mark either.”

 

He could feel the man's gaze zoned in on his neck and he didn't like it one bit. “Not that it's any of your business, man, but we're not there yet.”

 

“Too bad for him.”

 

“Well, that's real fucking nice and all-” Michael stopped short when he felt a finger snag in his belt loop. His anger started to bubble but it was washed out by an icy wave of unexpected fear. _Not my Alpha._

 

“Geoff is hardly your type, kid.” Every word was oily and slid across his skin in a way that made him shudder in disgust. “You need someone with a firm hand to get a leash on that filthy mouth. Only a piss-poor Alpha would let you get away with the shit you do, Jones. Why don't you come home with me tonight and I'll show you how good a real knot feels?”

 

The moment the man's knuckles crept under his shirt and brushed his spine he spun around and shoved at his chest as hard as he could. Burnie staggered back a few steps, stunned. “Listen, motherfucker, we're friends and everything, but get your _God damn hands_ off the merchandise!”

 

Burnie's eyes were hooded but the Jersey boy wasn't scared. “I know you're going through some shit but Geoff’s my Alpha. Mark, tattoo, collar, ring – whatever. We could break up tomorrow and it wouldn't matter because right this minute he's my Alpha and you're touching me and it's pissing me off. He's your coworker, man, stop stirring shit.”

 

Feeling bold, Michael did the most offensive thing he could think of and turned his back. It was the easiest and surest way to tell an Alpha to fuck off and liked to use it back in Jersey when he would have to turn down assholes riding on the afterscent of his heat. He wouldn't tell Geoff about this, the man was already worried about Burnie's recent asshole behavior and he didn’t need to confirm. He and Gavin had just started to get along but their house was tense as they all tried to figure out where they fit in each other's lives. Achievement Hunter may not have been in its infancy stage anymore but his Alpha was always picking through games and trying to find new and exciting things to post. 

 

Michael started opening the fridge, a smile on his face as he thought of sucking off his stressed Alpha tonight on the couch, but a hand on his arm derailed those thoughts. He was whipped around and slammed up against the fridge door, his body weight smacking it shut and making the entire appliance rock and clunk into the wall before pushing back hard against shoulder blades. He swung but his fist was grabbed and twisted, pain shooting up the entire length of his arm before it was pinned down. The fridge was ice cold against his skin and the sensation made the primal side of his brain spasm and freeze. _Don't make him angry. Appease the Alpha._

 

“I bet you scream and cuss worse than _Rage Quit_ when you get something up your tight little ass.”

 

 _Not my Alpha, asshole._ Michael's lower lip drew back to show off his teeth before he lashed out with his left hand. It was batted away without an ounce of effort. Burnie's smirking face loomed in front of him before thick fingers dug into his jaw and pried it open just enough for the Alpha to slant a hot kiss along his mouth. A high pitched sound escaped the Omega as he dug his hands into man's larger form, jabbing at all the weak points he could think of. But Burnie was determined. He felt his boss’s tongue slide along his own and he wanted to gag.

Michael bit down.

Burnie coughed and pulled back, sneering and delivering an open hand slap that knocked the glasses off his face and sent them skittering across the floor. It kind of made his ears ring and his eyes went cross from the force. “You don't bite _me_ , you little cocksucker.”

The Alpha took his mouth again with more force, splitting sensitive skin and drawing blood.

“Geoff!” someone squawked before a raw growl filled the room.

Gavin was ( _maybe_ ) one hundred and fifty pounds soaking wet. He built like a bird with long legs and arms and no grace. Even his neck was a vulnerable length. So Michael gaped like an idiot as the Brit threw himself at Burnie and managed to knock the Alpha a safe distance away. He tried to warn the other Omega off, tried to tell him that Burnie was hyped up, but surprise stole his voice. Gavin slapped a hand on the fridge and glared their boss down, moving his body in-between them as a type of shield. The Alpha's skin was pouring off a deadly cocktail of aggressive mating hormones. Michael could feel it seeping into his system, poisoning him, and by the tremble of Gavin's mouth he was just as affected.

Michael could feel the moment Burnie decided he could take both of them but when he moved he moved right into Geoff. His sweet, docile Alpha was blazing. They danced around each other, words held off in the first surge of base instinct to bite and punch and _hurt_. They had circled toward the door in a blink of an eye, the scent of distressed Omega driving them away and pulling them in at the same time.

“Geoff?” Gavin quivered.

“Take care of Michael,” the Alpha demanded, throwing a hand behind him to stop the Brit from coming any closer.

“I'm fine, I'm fine,” Michael muttered over and over as Gavin turned his attention toward him. The other kind of cooed and moved him toward the other side of the fridge, grabbing a paper towel off the counter and snagging half a handful of crushed ice from a quick dart in the freezer. The taller Omega tucked the ice into the cloth and warmed it in the palm of his hand. It was cool and damp when pressed to Michael's mouth. “Am I fine?”

“You're just bleeding a bit, boy, it's alright. Just a bite.” Gavin's eyes were darting towards the Alphas. The napkin turned red and suddenly the gamer could feel the _zing_ of pain in his lip.

It was quiet for less than a minute before the room erupted.

“What the fuck was that, Burnie?”

There was venom in his Alpha's voice.

Burnie threw him a shit-eating smirk. “Ah, come on, Geoff. It's not like you were taking care of the kid.”

“You can't put your hands on my Omega.” There was a constant rumble in the back of Geoff's throat that made every word rough. “You've got some balls fucking touch him like that!"

 

“I'm your friend, right?” Burnie came at him with open arms, but the tension in his muscles showed this wasn't over. “I'm just looking out for you. You'll never – _ever_ – be able to hold a tasty little brat like that for very long. Sooner rather than later, right? Because why would he have _you_ -”

Burnie shoved his shoulder, just a little, to make a point.

“-when he could have _me_?”

Geoff's eyes caught fire, both of them glaring and on the verge of swinging. “I don't give a shit what you think. He's my Omega, for Christ's sake! If you were anyone else I would've punched you in the throat and stomped your fucking nuts in for pulling a stunt like this!”

Eyes rolled. “He was into it.”

“You’re a sick fuck.”

 

“You know what, Geoff? Bring it,” Burnie scoffed, closing those last few steps between them and getting in the smaller Alpha's face. “You're more Beta than Alpha and we all know it but no one wants to say it. You're just too damn likeable. You're giving these boys a father figure and that's real cute and everything but it's not what they need.”

He shoved him again, a little firmer this time. Geoff just rolled with it. Gavin moved closer to Michael, their stomachs bottomed out and trembling painfully. The Alphas were so close, tension and breath mingling in a storm cloud around their bodies.

“You can be their Daddy if you want.” Burnie's thumb brushed along the beard on the other’s chin. “But me? I'm gonna _fuck 'em_.”

Geoff struck like a snake in two quick movements. A fist to the gut, an elbow to the solar plexus, and one solid shove sent Burnie staggering into the door. It rattled on its hinges and thunked into the wall but the real thing to hear was the breath escaping the Alpha in a long, slow whine. His eyes were wide and hand was pressed to the top of his stomach, unable to cope with the blow he'd taken. Geoff hadn't even broken a sweat. Military combat training was no joke and even years later it was fresh in his mind, Alpha strength hidden under a casual air but laced tight through his muscles.

 

“What the hell is going on here?”

 

Matt pushed through the small crowd outside the door, looking between the Alpha’s with a deep frown. “Are you two fighting? What the fuck, guys?”

 

Burnie seemed to be waiting for the other Alpha to make a move. Geoff looked to Michael but the younger man shook his head, staying behind the last line of defense that was Gavin’s arm braced firmly on the fridge. The Brit looked ready to pounce if need be but he didn’t want a fight. None of them did. Geoff could see Ray peeking in through the doorway and all he could think of was setting a good example for Alphas everywhere. A large part of him wanted to rip Burnie’s ribs out one by one but the rational side said being a bigger man was the way to go about it.

 

“Nothing,” he breathed, clearing his throat so he could sound a little more convincing. “Nothing’s going on, Matt. It was a misunderstanding.”

 

Matt didn’t look happy. “Okay, _nothing_ it is. So why don’t we all get our asses moving and starting doing _something_ , alright? I’m sure you all have shit to do!”

 

Matt walked out and people started to scattered but there was a small gaggle of interns who looked ready to ask a million questions. Burnie turned up his nose at them as he left but they wouldn’t be deterred. Realizing the couple needed a minute, Gavin reluctantly walked away from his friend and started barking at the gawkers to _get on with it, then_!

 

Geoff grabbed a pair of familiar dark glasses off the floor and walked up to his Omega, heart heavy at the sight of the usually strong boy so shaken. “Come here.”

 

“Jesus, Geoff.” Michael crowded in close, breathing in the smell of his Alpha as his frames were carefully eased over his ears. The world came back into focus and it cooled off the panicked thumping of his heart. “I should’ve fought back harder. I could’ve. I can’t believe I…I just froze like a fucking idiot. And I let him-”

 

“Michael,” Geoff tisked and laid a hand on each side of the other’s neck, thumbs tracing the fluttering skin of his pulse points. “You didn’t _let_ him do anything. A determined Alpha is a shitty thing to try and fight off. Even _I_ could smell him.”

 

Michael turned his head away when the other went in for a kiss. “Please don’t.”

 

Geoff had never felt more like an ass. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have tried anything.”

 

“No! No, it’s not that.” His smile was weak. “Let me rinse out my mouth first. He kissed me and I really don’t want you going back after him because you can taste him or some shit.” The implication hit him like a sucker punch. “God, Geoff, if you hadn’t showed up I don’t know what or crap he would’ve tried to pull. He didn’t give a flying fuck that we were at work.”

 

“Don’t think about it.” The words were whispered into his skin as the Alpha ran his nose up and down the length of his neck, fingers touching patches of bare skin. Every place that Burnie had touched was soothed with firm caresses. His Alpha’s scent was left behind, correcting him, making the adrenaline fade away into a warm buzz.

 

By the door, Gavin smirked at the retreating interns. “Stupid lot this time around, right Michael?”

 

The Brit looked over and realized he was promptly forgotten. Geoff and Michael were standing with barely any air between them, the Alpha’s mouth busy kissing every inch of pale skin before bumped their foreheads together. They were speaking quietly, wrapping themselves up in an intimate moment. Gavin swallowed past the lump in his throat and made himself small against the frame. He knew he shouldn’t look, that he wasn’t needed or wanted there, but he couldn’t help but fantasize about wiggling between them. He wanted to nuzzle Michael and breathe in Geoff’s calming scent. He was frazzled from the encounter too.

 

But Geoff wasn’t his Alpha, at least not in the intimate way he was before. Those sweet little kisses and cuddles belonged solely to Michael now. And that was alright. It had to be.

 

He was ready to slink away and maybe sit next to Ryan for a while when he heard Michael speak.

 

“And if it wasn’t for Gavin-” There was a little gasp and Michael stepped out of the circle of his Alpha’s arms. “ _Gavin_.”

 

“Michael?”

 

For a moment he swore he was going to get hit or something. There was no way Michael was coming up to-

 

Gavin squawked when the Jersey boy grabbed him and yanked him into a hug. It was a bit too hard but that didn’t make it any less perfect. He hugged the other Omega back with a hum, brushing his cheek in his fragrant curls. “Michael.”

 

“Thank you. Seriously.” The shorter Omega’s fingers fanned over his shoulder blade, leaving five little points of fire through the thin material of his t-shirt. “You fucking took him down, man. No fear. That was brave as dicks.”

 

“It was?”

 

“I heard you yell.” Michael slowly let him go, a strange look on his face. “You got Geoff here and then you got straight in Burnie’s face. I owe you, dude.”

 

“Ah, come off it,” Gavin waved his hand as if to dismiss it. “You would’ve done the same for me, right?”

 

Michael thought it over for just a moment before he cracked a grin. “Hell yeah I would’ve.”

 

o0o

 

Michael laid awake long after Geoff had fallen asleep. His Alpha was curled around him protectively, an arm tucked around his waist and a nose buried in his hair. It was more than nice and any other night he would’ve fallen straight to sleep after he’d gotten so thoroughly fucked and scented. But not tonight. Something was off and he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

 

Michael could faintly hear the television from the living room. He moved Geoff’s arm off him and started to slide off the mattress but the man made a little growly sound and he knew he had to stop. He kissed his Alpha’s forehead, cheek, and lips while murmuring a promise that he was alright and he just wanted to get some water. That made Geoff try and blink himself awake and he muttered a husky _let me get it for you, baby_ before trying to kick off the covers.

 

His Alpha was the only one who could get away with calling stupid pet names, but only in bed. Michael kissed him again and told him to go back to sleep. After getting his hair petted for a few minutes, the man obeyed. He made his escape on tip toes, grabbing a pair of basketball shirts and a tank from the dryer to cover up his nakedness.

 

As he suspected, Gavin was in the living room watching the TV on low volume with a bowl of Reese Cups in his lap. His lids were dropping and his movements were slow but he didn’t look like he’d be going to his room anytime soon.

 

“What are you doing up?”

 

Gavin jumped and swallowed down one of his obnoxious noises before he cocked his head over the couch. “Did I wake you up? God, Michael, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

 

“I was still awake,” Michael assured him, waving at the Omega to stay there as he moved around to sit beside him. “Whatcha’ doin’?”

 

“Just some crap game show telly,” Gavin shrugged, the blue light of _Jeopardy_ casting weird shadows on their faces. They watched together for a little while, the bowl of candy put back on the table in exchange for the remote so the volume could be turned up. The Brit squirmed and crossed his legs, hands burrowing in the crook of them as he tried to disguise his nervous movements. “So why are you up? Thought you two were done for the night?”

 

Michael smirked. “Were you listening?”

 

“No, Michael, never!” Gavin blushed all the way up to his hairline. “I-I’d never do that! I just…I heard…I smelled that, uh…”

 

“You were sniffing outside the door, huh?” he teased.

 

Gavin gaped and turned a darker shade of red, tan cheeks practically glowing. “No! I mean…I mean, I didn’t _mean_ to. You two together are real strong, I guess.” He winced at his own words. “I’m sorry. Don’t be mad.”

 

“I’m not mad.” Michael scooted closer until their knees were touching, brow furrowed quizzically. “Can I ask you something?”

 

“Anything, yeah,” he replied eagerly, ready to change the subject.

“Why did you protect me today?”

 

“I already told you.”

“No, you didn’t,” he bit back. “You protected me like I was your Omega or something. If Geoff hadn’t jumped in I’m pretty sure you were going to take Burnie on by yourself. You knew, logically, things wouldn’t have gotten any further and I could’ve made a run for it. But you put yourself in his path anyway. He would’ve beaten the snot out of you, man. I just need to know.”

 

The Brit hunched his shoulders. “Need to know what?”

 

“If you did it because you’re trying to get in good with Geoff.”

 

Gavin looked as if he’d been smacked, mouth dropping open and eyes all wide. “Why…why would you say that?”

His heart was doing a funny little skip in his chest but he knew it had to be said. “Because I don’t want it to be true.”

 

Gavin was quiet until the next commercial. Michael gave him some privacy and turned his head, desperately hoping he hadn’t destroyed the fragile relationship they had. They were in a precarious position socially and they both understood that but Gavin had always been too much to ignore.

 

The other Omega’s head fell on to his shoulder, a hand blanketing his own on his knee. It was a warm and sudden contact but Michael didn’t feel the need to pull away. He dug his chin into the bird’s nest Gavin called hair and just breathed him in, wrapping an arm around his shoulders without ever really meaning to.

 

“You’re my friend.”

 

It almost sounded like a question.

 

“Yeah?”

 

“So I’m not going to ever let anyone hurt you,” Gavin swore into his chest, hand squeezing his own like a promise. Michael was taken aback by the statement and could only stare down at the top of the Omega’s head until the applause from the TV audience shook him out of it.

 

“Okay, man,” he said, pulling him closer. “Okay.”

 

o0o

 

The next morning Geoff could only stand at the start of the kitchen and stare in amazement at the two Omegas on his couch. Both were fast asleep and covered in a couple of throw blankets but Gavin was snuggled into Michael’s lap like an overgrown puppy. The Jersey boy had his head over the back of the couch and was snoring loudly but his fingers were lost in the other Omega’s hair as if he’d been petting him before falling asleep.

 

“My boys,” Geoff breathed out, a weightless joy filling his chest at how right that sounded.

 

The Omegas woke up to the biggest breakfast they’d ever seen laid out across the table.

 

“Eat up, bitches.”

 

And they did, forks jabbing at one another’s plates in a playful fight for the fullest.

 

* * *

 

**This was the chapter I was most worried about. It was hard to write because I love Burnie so much but we all know how hormones go in A/B/O tag. Also...dirty talk may be a big turn on for me. Sorry if it got too much**


	17. Ryan and Ray VI

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryan shows up at Ray's door.

**Request for some more R &R Connection. This may not seem like a lot but I totally wrote out like seven more drabbles just for them. I'm getting a little too invested in this fic.**

 

**Thank you guys for the awesome feedback. It has made my fingers fly across the keys**

* * *

 

Ray surfed YouTube with what he was sure was a zombified stare, chin braced on his palm and finger occasionally tapping on the mouse pad to go to the next video. He was bored but he wasn't tired enough to go to bed. The sun hadn't even set properly. He was hungry but was too lazy to order online or call some place. No social life. No work to do. No new games to play.

 

“Just another day in the life of boring, boring Ray,” he drawled.

 

His phone buzzed and when he clicked open the text it was from Ryan.

 

**RyanH: I'm not an intruder. Put away your Mexican knives and illegal pistols.**

 

Then there was a knock at the door. Ray popped of the couch and ran for the door, pausing in front of it to smooth his rumpled clothes and try and fix his hair. He could feel how fucked up it was but there was nothing he could do now. The Alpha was behind his door. Right there. Waiting for him to open it. A flutter of panic went through his stomach and he hurriedly pulled it open.

 

Ryan smiled and raised up a heavy looking paper bag that smelled heavenly. “Hi. I brought Chinese. I hope that’s a consolation for me just kind of showing up.”

 

“I...yeah, that's great,” Ray tried to smile past his surprise. “Did we plan something? Are others coming? Did I forget?”

 

Ryan's face fell. “Just me, actually. Unless you planned something else?”

 

There were a few awkwardly silent moments where they couldn't meet each other's eyes.

 

“You said I could come over some time and play _Call of Duty_ ,” the Alpha reminded him. “I wasn't doing anything tonight and I thought maybe I could bring you food and you could teach me. We've got a _Let's Play_ coming up and if I, uh.” He laughed nervously. “I trained up here with you maybe we could sweep them. It'd be a cool surprise, don't you think?”  


“Yeah,” he smiled, heart warmed at the thought that he could teach 'Ryan the Game Guy' anything. “Yeah, that'd be really cool. I've been wanting to do it for a while. I just thought you were busy and stuff or I would've had you over all the time, man.”

 

_So fucking desperate._

 

Ryan gave a once-over of the empty street before turning the full heat of his gaze onto the young gamer. “Can I come in or do you want to have a picnic on the sidewalk? The flickering streetlight makes great mood lighting.”

 

“Oh my God, I'm a fucking idiot.”

 

Ryan's eyes went real wide and he realized he'd said that out loud instead of with his usual internal monologue. “Dude...”

 

Ray moved to the side. “You're always invited. Come on in, man.”

 

Though the Alpha gave him a strange look he seemed to let the harsh words go. The door was locked and the two went into the kitchen to sort through the treasure that was a mixed take out bag. Ray started putting the cartons on the counter, peeking into each one with a growing smile. He loved the entire haul and he was ready to eat until he puked. He wanted to tell Ryan that but he stopped when he saw that the Alpha was just staring inside his fridge with two bottles of Coke in his hand.

 

“What's wrong, man?”

 

“I’m going to say something, and you can’t get mad at me.”

 

_Oh God._

 

“I want to buy you groceries.”

 

Ray looked over the man’s shoulder and spotted the sparse and expired food in his fridge. It was just a collection of soda and leftover boxes, really. He wasn’t sure whether to be ashamed or giddy. “Really?”

 

“If we’re being honest, my Alpha instincts are going nuts right now,” Ryan covered his mouth with his hand, eyes darting over the shelves like he was already making a shopping list. “Please tell me there’s food in the cabinets?”

 

“Do you want me to lie to you?”

 

“Ray, you can’t live on this.”

 

“I have proven otherwise.”

 

“Go start up the game, asshole.”

 

Ray bounded back into the living room, happily listening to the older man rustle around his kitchen pulling down plates and fishing out silverware. He booted COD on his Xbox and tried not to bounce on his heels like a kid. _Protective instincts. Holy shit._ This day was getting to be the best ever. He was going to show off his mad skills and Ryan was going to be super fucking impressed.

 

o0o

 

Ryan gaped at the screen as his head exploded – again. He looked over at Ray but the boy was staring straight ahead, fingers flying over the controls as he dodged the same sniper and took him out with a well-arched grenade. He would have never guessed that Ray of all people could be such a serious, technical player. He knew when to switch weapons, where the best hiding spots were, and he wasn’t afraid of using it to his advantage. It was fine balance of confidence and tactical knowledge. He had to wonder what other games Ray could dominate with an intense focus like that.

 

They were side by side on the couch but throughout the game (due to thrashing and victory wiggles) they had moved close enough for their knees to touch. Swallowing his pride, Ryan cocked his head and sniffed discreetly to catch his scent.

 

“Wow,” he breathed.

 

“I know, man, the guy’s camping like an asshole outside your spawn area,” Ray rattled off, the scope of the gun he had taken off the sniper sweeping over the area the Alpha was in. “You need to duck and roll to the left. The wall there is low but it should give you a minute to throw a grenade and blast him. Shoot and bail, alright?”

 

Ryan fought off the same kind of dopey smile he often saw on his boss’s face. The young gamer smelled like the good vanilla Geoff used when he got in the mood to make cookies from scratch. It was light, innocent, and he wanted to bathe in it. It reminded him of ice cream in the summer and the coffee Lindsay blew over the top of on chilly mornings.

 

“Dude, go.”

 

“Yeah, yeah.”

 

o0o

 

Ray made sure to play on his AH account from the get-go. As the hours crept by he lost more and more, his virtual guy falling under stray bullets and stupid turns taken too quickly. Ryan was slowly getting better and he was proud of that but he was getting too distracted to by any kind of teacher. He could feel the Alpha’s heat through two layers of denim and on the one single point where their knees met. It was probably just an inch of contact but it made his blood pressure rise and his dick to stir in his jeans.

 

Once Ryan’s score had hit a decent high, they threw on the first episode of _Game of Thrones_ and started shoveling lukewarm Chinese food into their faces. The Alpha was surprisingly knowledgeable about a show he’d never seen and he managed to piece together all the characters pretty quickly. They kept talking and realized there were a lot of shows they hadn’t both watched.

 

“You’ve never seen _Psych_? Ever?” Ryan pestered, grabbing the remote and flicking through to Netflix.

 

“Nope.”

 

“Then we’re watching the first episode. The first two seasons are the best anyway.”

 

A thought struck the younger man mid noodle slurp. “You know…we could do this more often.”

 

“What specifically?”

 

“You could come over, we could get our food on, and watch the first episodes of stuff.” Ray winced at how dumb that sounded and shoved his fork back in his carton. “Or whatever.”

 

“No, that sounds great,” Ryan approved, raising his Coke. “To the start of a new media night. Just the two of us.”

 

The clink of the glasses echoed the way the breath knocked out of him. “Yeah. Just us.”

 

o0o

 

With their bellies full and their eyelids heavy, they called it a night a little after midnight. Ray walked him to the door, knuckles rubbing into his eyes behind his glasses as he followed the Alpha out. He yawned wide enough for his jaw to crack. “This was fun, dude.”

 

“It was, wasn't it?” Ryan teased, grabbing his jacket off a nearby chair and zipping it up to the middle of his chest. He looked ready to turn the knob and leave but he stopped, letting it go and stepping back in front of the younger man. “I know I already cashed in this card earlier but – can I do something and you not be mad?”

 

“Ryan, man, there's not a lot you can do that would piss me off,” Ray replied with a brutal honesty that should have scared him. He still jumped when the Alpha took one of his hands and brought it up between them, palm cradling the curl of his fingers. He was ready to shoot out a quick _no homo_ when Ryan pressed a kiss against the back of it. It sent the same hot sparks that the touch of their knees had. He felt it all the way up his arm and into his heart like an electric current. The Alpha's gaze was always so cool and now was no different.

 

It was hard to find ice like that in Texas.

 

When Ryan let go his hand fell limp at his side.

 

“Thanks for having me over. Don't forget to lock the door behind me.”

 

And then he was gone into the night. Vanished. It easily could have all been a dream except for all of the new leftovers in his fridge and the flutter of his heart. Ray staggered over to his couch and plopped down, gazing without seeing at the credits still running on the movie they'd finished. The back of his hand was tingling and he brought it up slowly to his chest so as not to dislodge the feeling. He cradled it close, everything from his cheeks to his toes going all warm and fuzzy like they described it in cheap novels. He brought his knees up and buried his face between them, hiding his dumb grin and losing himself in the pleasant shivers that took over his skin as he clutched his hand.

 

If he didn’t know any better, he would say this felt like love.


	18. Michael and Gavin I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin starts working at Rooster Teeth again and Michael needs to get used to him being around Geoff. But how the fuck is he supposed to do that when the git disappeared at night?

**Oh, this one's a little rougher than usual.**

* * *

 

“He’s _what_?”

 

“He’s staying in the garage loft,” Geoff repeated calmly, though his crossed arms and raised chin showed he was ready for a fight. “That’s his home while he’s in America. I’m not going to make him stay in a hotel or pay too much rent on an apartment just because you’re uncomfortable with it.”

 

“That’s _exactly_ why he should fuck off somewhere else.”

 

“You’re my Omega, Michael, you mean everything to me.” The Alpha touched his cheek, a silent request to look at him that he obeyed. “But I want to take care of him. I’m sorry if that upsets you. I don’t want it to. But I’m not going to budge on this. I’ll make it up to you however you want.”

 

Michael huffed out a sharp breath before he jabbed the Alpha in the chest. “You’re going to make me one fully home cooked meal every day. Lunch, dinner, breakfast, second breakfast, whatever. I’m serious. For every meal you miss, I’m going to break one window.”

 

Geoff tried really hard not to laugh. “Deal.”

 

“And no more getting on me about my Red Bull.”

 

“I’ll try my best.”

 

“And this is going to count as you getting a dog.”

 

“Hm. Fine, alright.”

 

Neither one of them even thought for a moment about breaking up. Other couples would’ve separated for less but the idea never once crossed their minds.

 

 _‘That’s love for ‘ya’_ , Geoff would laugh about later when asked about it.

 

o0o

 

The first few days in the office with Gavin were the worst Michael had ever experienced. The Brit was a constant bouncing lunatic and it seemed his world revolved around the Jersey boy rather than Geoff (as expected by him and the entire office). He was within ten feet at any moment and loved to blatantly trail after him like some stupid love-struck puppy. (To be honest with himself it wasn’t unlike Geoff’s behavior when he was trying to court him.) Michael deflected all the questions of whether he still had his Alpha with another Omega swirling so close to him but he was getting fed up with it really quickly. The whole thing grated on his nerves and by Wednesday of the first week he was ready to start pounding in faces just to get some peace and quiet.

 

“What’s your favorite color?” Gavin inquired, literally _circling_ the other Omega as he walked back from the break room to the office.

 

“Don’t have one.”

 

“What’s your favorite food, Michael?”

 

“Say my fucking name right.”

 

“Do you have any pets? Maybe a kitty-cat? You look like a cat person, Mi-chael.”

 

“You make it sound all stupid!”

 

“Nah, I’m wrong, you look much more into dogs. They get along with Omegas better anyway.”

 

“Oh my God, shut up.”

 

“Is that a new hat?”

  
“Shut up.”

  
“It’s top. Ha! Get it? ‘Cause it’s a hat.”

 

“Shut up.”

 

“Language is so weird, Michael. You all say ‘cool’ when things are hot but I call some grub ‘ace’ and I get weird looks for days. And you just make up words, mate, but I really like it. You’re so _creative_ , Michael. Your last _Rage Quit_ was great.”

 

“Shut up.”

 

“Do you know you said ‘fuck’ thirty-seven times?”

 

“Ah!” Michael roared, head snapping back and eyes clenching shut. “WOULD YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP, ALREADY?!”

 

Gavin paused his mini-rotation, blinking at the other as he breathed heavily through his nose like an angry bull.

 

“For five minutes, five-fucking-minutes, would you just…be… _quiet_?” Michael fingers crooked into claws, like he was actually going to start scratching at the other Omega’s face. “Leave me alone. Like, fucking go _anywhere_ else.”

 

Gavin laughed softly. “Idiot. I want to talk to _you_.”

 

“Well, then, you’re the idiot. Get the fuck out of my way.” He swept the Brit aside and tried not to stomp his way to the door. The last thing he needed was Geoff finding out they were fighting again. He’d already pushed his Alpha’s patience by rejecting all of Gavin’s friendship tokens (energy drinks, lunch dates, hugs, stupid small shit) and he wasn’t sure if screaming at him in the office would be the last straw.

 

But Michael stopped worrying about that once he got in the room. “What the hell is all this?”

 

Their old desks had been moved out and their things were on the floor packed carefully in boxes. They were all marked with names. Ray, Jack, Michael. And two new ones, both set right beside each other.

 

_Geoff. Gavin._

 

“Motherfucker.”

 

“There you two are,” Geoff greeted, handing his armful of wire off to a frazzled Ray.

 

“What’s goin’ on, guys?” Gavin asked, curiously staring at the box that now held all the things that had been on his desk down the hall except for his computer.

 

“Like you don’t know,” Michael snapped, ready to shove him again.

 

“But I don’t.”

 

“Boys,” the Alpha stole their attention. “There’s going to be some changes.”

 

o0o

 

Michael couldn’t help himself. The moment he got home he poked his head into the loft, nose curling t the high stacks of boxes and the pile of sheets that graced the other Omega’s bed. “Jesus Christ. What a fucking loser.”

  
“Michael?” Geoff called from the kitchen. He followed his Alpha’s voice back and found him already halfway through making tacos. It smelled amazing.

 

“Where the hell is Gavin?” he asked casually, sliding into one of the dining room chairs to kick his feet up. “He’s not in his room and the stupid fuck has to eat sometime.”

 

“Your concern is touching,” Geoff replied with a heavy dollop of sarcasm. “And he said he was going to stay at Ray’s.”

 

“Again?” Michael pushed.

  
“Yeah.” He cut a look at the Omega as he stirred up the seasoned meat. “I thought you’d be happy about this. It means we get to spend another night alone.”

 

Michael picked at his nails. “You know his stuff is still packed? And there’s no pillows on his bed or anything?”

 

The Alpha couldn’t quite mask his concern. “It’s his stuff. He’s a big boy.”

 

“He’s giving us space or whatever, I appreciate it and shit, but I haven’t seen or heard him in the middle of the night yet. And I’ve been here the entire time he has. I can’t smell him anywhere, barely even in his own room. And that stupid potpourri shit sticks to everything.”

  
“You’re actually complaining?” Geoff carefully drained the beef. “You stay over all the time to pee in a circle around me-”

 

“Strictly metaphorical, I swear.”

 

“-and Gav’s quiet coming in and out of the house. You two never see each other here. He’s respectful and keeps his distance while you get used to him. And, most importantly, your scent overrides his. What is so bad about this?”

 

“He’s just being a sneaky shit, is all,” Michael griped. “I think he’s being stupid and I’m going to find out what.”

 

“Michael,” he warned.

 

“I’m just telling you now. He’s up to something.”

 

o0o

 

It was an entire week before Michael just cornered Ray. “Tell that stupid dickhead to come home and clean up his fucking room. It’s a God damn mess. And tell him to quit leeching off you.”

 

Ray frowned. “Yeah, I’ll get right on that. Right after I figure out what you’re talking about.”

 

“Gavin,” the name pulled itself out from behind his teeth, “He’s been riding your couch long enough. I know he’s not coming home, no matter what Geoff says.”

 

“Well he’s not coming at all from what I can guess,” Ray tried to laugh it off but he fizzled when saw the Omega’s stern look. “No really, man, he’s not staying with me. ‘Vav is more than welcome, he knows that, but I thought he was getting his stuff settled at Geoff’s. You three are supposed to be working shit out, right?”

 

Michael walked away, leaving his friend behind so he could find a moment alone to think.

 

o0o

 

Michael got up extra early the next morning. He left Geoff behind with a kiss and took a thermos of coffee to help keep his eyes open. Gavin’s room was empty (as he’d predicted) and there was no sign of the Omega anywhere else in the house. He took his car to the office but he’d stolen his Alpha’s master ring of keys (with good reason). A layer of fog had settled on the word and it clung to his feet as he walked up to the front door and let himself in.

 

The building was cool and quiet, shadows slanting over everything as the first faint rays of sun slid in through the windows. He took off his shoes and quietly padded to the office. This whole thing was kind of a long shot but he had to try. Geoff was getting worried. And to a lesser extent, so was he. Gavin may have been an energetic asshole who he still kind of thought was trying to get into his Alpha’s bed, but he was still a person. And he deserved a home.

 

Michael let himself into the office and his suspicions were confirmed.

 

Gavin was spread out on an old couch that Ryan had talked about chucking just earlier today. The Alpha was planning on getting a much nicer one so he could make a little temporary desk to put in when they were all doing _Let’s Plays_. It was lumpy and broken in the middle but Gavin was curled up on it anyway, his jacket bunched under his head and gangly arms tucked into his body to keep them warm. His backpack was still at his desk and obviously hadn’t been touched since the night before.

 

Michael felt the first sparks of rage in his chest and before he knew it he was kicking the couch hard enough to rattle the frame. “Wake up, asshole!”

 

Gavin made an inhuman squeak, his entire body flailing wildly for a moment before he managed to sit himself up. He scrubbed his eyes and blinked around, terrified that he had overslept, but once he saw the office was empty he turned those wide eyes onto the other Omega. “Michael?”

Michael didn’t want to admit it but the Brit looked rough. He had little dark smudges under his eyes and he was scuffy, his usually fluffy hair kind of greasy. His smell was off. It was more like mulch than flowers now. His clothes were all wrinkly and the poor bastard had been sleeping in his jeans.

 

“Are you seriously sleeping here?”

 

“Well, I, uh-“

 

“You’re such a dumbass,” Michael scowled, still taking in his appearance. “You smell like fucking garbage. What the hell are you doing? Why aren’t you at home?”

 

The Omega fiddled with his fingers. “I…I can’t.”

 

“You ‘can’t’?” Michael echoed. “Do the doors lock from the inside, motherfucker? I’ll tell you what you can’t do. You _can’t_ sleep here. You have a perfectly good bed at home, you ungrateful shit.”

 

Every insult made Gavin flinch and he grabbed at his jacket to cover himself up, a protective coating to keep the hurt out.

 

“Tell me.”

 

Gavin looked up at him and he was hit full force by how tired the man actually looked. “What?”

 

“Tell me why you’re here and not at Geoff’s house. Right now.”

 

“Because you don’t want me there, Michael.”

 

Those words curled like a fist around his heart, temporarily choking him.

 

“You don’t want anything to do with me,” Gavin continued on, voice strained and eyes wet. “I’ve tried so hard to make you like me but nothing’s worked. I don’t know what else to do. I don’t want you anymore upset with me than you already are so I stayed here. I thought if I wasn’t in your way…I thought if I wasn’t around Geoff and my scent wasn’t all over the place you would be happier but now you’re just as angry as before. You’re right, I’m a fucking idiot.”

 

The Brit hunched his shoulders and leaned over his lap, gaze downcast so the other Omega didn’t see how close he was to crying. “I shouldn’t have come back here. There’s…there’s no place for me anymore. I wanted too much. I ruined everything with Dan because he wasn’t Geoff and now I don’t even have that.”

 

It was the first time he’d set it out loud and the realization forced a twin trail of tears to curve over his cheeks. He quickly mopped them up with the end of his jacket sleeve but Michael had already caught a whiff of the saline. The Omega started to shake as he thought of having to go back home and leave his little gaming family behind.

 

“Would you cut it out already? You’re making me feel bad.”

 

Michael sat down beside him, alarming the other Omega. He leaned back on the couch and stuffed his arms into his hoody, eyes staring off across the room as he mulled it all over.

 

“I’m ‘soory.”

 

“Your accent is dumb, but you’re not that big of an idiot. No bigger than me at least,” Michael confessed, nose kind of twitching as it was full of the Omega’s tainted scent. “And I wouldn’t be so God damn mad if you didn’t have an actual place here. I’ll admit I didn’t want you at first but, you know, who doesn’t get mad at Mom when they bring home another kid, right?”

 

Gavin looked up to watch the other play out his repressed feelings.

 

“And it doesn’t always matter what I want, does it?” Michael craned his neck with a satisfying _pop_ , some of the tension floating out of his system. “Geoff says I act like it, but I do in fact know I’m not the center of the fucking universe. The moon and the stars don’t revolve around me wanting to rip the jugular out of my competition.”

 

“I’m not competition, Michael,” Gavin whispered, trying desperately not to aggravate the other.

 

“Maybe, maybe not,” he shrugged. “Not really up to me. What is up to me is getting used to your scent all over Geoff’s house. It’s important, biologically and socially and shit. I’ve gotta’ get you used to being in the nest or this whole thing will never work. So how the fuck am I supposed to do that when you’re sleeping here?”

 

He glanced over. “Doesn’t it sound like competition trying to make yourself a martyr? Because if Geoff found out you weren’t actually staying at Ray’s, he’d all but drag you home cave man style.”

 

Gavin flushed, sitting up straighter as the idea finally connected. “No! I didn’t mean that at all! I wouldn’t do that to you, Michael, you have to know I wouldn’t!”

 

“Good,” Michael grunted, standing up and glaring down at him. “Now get the fuck up and go home. Shower, shave, do a load of laundry, and take the day off to get your room together. I want all your shit unpacked and put away before we get home tonight.”

 

Gavin felt the same rush of adrenaline as if an Alpha had given the order to him. “I-I can’t just take the day off.”

 

“Bullshit, I’m making you.” Michael plucked at a thick lock of hair on the other’s head. “Jesus, you reek. Take two showers. And don’t let me fucking catch you pulling shit like this again.”

 

“What’ll you do if I don’t?” Gavin waggled his eyebrows, trying to lighten the mood. “Spank me?”

 

Michael wasn’t exactly in the best shape but he was quick as fuck. He grabbed Gavin by the front of his shirt and forced him back into the corner of the couch, moving over him in a swift moment that caught the Brit off guard. He slid a jean-clad thigh between his legs and hovered over him, eyes flaming with determination and something else that sent a rush of lust to his groin. They stared at one another, one panting lightly and scared while the other was cool and poised to strike. It was an intimate position that let them share body heat, hearts pounding in sync for just a few painfully short moments.

 

“Don’t tempt me.”

 

The words rolled over his skin like a tangible caress. Goosebumps cropped up across his collarbone and neck and the other Omega saw it, grinning in triumph.

 

“Now get your shit and meet me at the car. We’re going home.”

 

o0o

 

For the rest of the day, Michael calmly informed anyone who asked that Gavin was taking a mental health day.

 

“So, what, you just gave him the day off?”

 

Michael shrugged with a mouthful of doughnut as he waited for his newest video to render. Geoff wasn’t sure if the casual air was a good thing or not.

 

“Are you going to tell me what happened?”

 

“None of your business, really.”

 

The couple sat in silence for a few more minutes before Geoff cracked a smile.

 

“You know, this is something I would do for you.”

 

“Hm?”

 

“Alpha’s give their Omega’s days off from their jobs when they know they’re under a lot of emotional stress. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of an Omega doing it for another Omega before.”

 

“Yeah, well, the world’s a progressive place. Get with the times, old man.”


	19. Group

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Geoff introduces Minecraft.

As Gavin wiggled back into the empty space he left when he went to England, the office started to go through some growing pains. It was shifting, changing. It was all for the best and they knew it so the crew went along and adjusted accordingly.

 

Geoff herded the group into Jack, Ray, and Michael's shared office. As usual, the moment Gavin and Ray were in the room they clashed and laughed and wrestled each other to the floor. It was fun and games, kittens fighting really. It was a way for Gavin to scent the unpresented gamer in an age-old certainty of _pack_ and _family_ , making him one of them even though he had yet to go through the change.

 

The Brit was all but licking his friend's face when Geoff cleared his throat loudly. “I've gathered you all here today...”

 

“I better get a ring,” Michael grumbled from his chair.

 

“Boys,” Geoff warned gently.

 

Gavin helped Ray to his feet and they both went to the younger man's desk, the older settling on top of it with a little puff of breath.

 

“Welcome to the new set up!” Geoff threw out his arms, indicating all the stuff around them. They had moved two new desks in and little name-cards had been placed where it wasn't quite clear where people should be. The others obediently looked around, some more pleased than others. “Jack and I are going to have the left wall here. Ryan, I want you to come up with a stable set up and you'll slide it right _there_. Yeah, between Jack's desk and the wall. You think it'll fit?”

 

“I can rig something up.”

 

“Perfect.”

 

“Ryan the Rigging Guy,” Ray snickered, getting a hair ruffle from the Brit.

 

“Gavin, you'll be closest to the door,” Geoff patted the chair said Omega would be taking. “Michael, you'll be beside him.”

 

“Of- _fucking_ -course.”

 

“And Ray, I figured you'd appreciate the corner.” _And Ryan would appreciate being directly across from you. All the better to ogle you, my pretty._ The Wicked Witch cackle in his brain did not help keep the smile off his face. No sense in being professional when you essentially worked with children playing video games.

 

Ray realized the angle and colored up. Ryan gave him a little wave and a, “Hi, neighbor.”

 

The Puerto Rican smiled and kind of waved back, “Hey.”

 

They all gave a cheer but Geoff waved them down. “Don't get too excited. He's keeping his desk in the annex.”

 

“He won't be in here with us?” Ray spoke up, lips turned down.

 

It broke his heart to shake his head. “He'll be keeping his desk in the annex. Trust me, kid, he's better where he is. He has a lot more on his plate than you guys do and we'd just be setting him up for distraction keeping him in here with us.”

 

Ray looked so painfully disappointed that he had to add, “But he'll be in here all the time for _Let's Plays_.”

 

He brightened but the moment he realized he was being too eager he stamped it down. Ryan couldn't have looked more pleased with himself.

 

“This is permanent as far as I'm concerned,” Geoff elaborated. “I think this will be really good for everyone. On a personal note, I think this will be particularly good for Michael and Gavin.”

  
“Fuck you!”

 

“Thank you for your contribution, Michael,” he deadpanned. “I want everyone to be friends and get along. So I, along with a lot of help from Gavin, have constructed a new _Let's Play_ series that I think the fans will eat up.”

 

Jack seemed to pale. “Don't tell me...”

 

“It's _Minecraft_!”

 

“God damn it.”

 

“Thanks to lots of booze and free time, we've almost got the world ready and we start recording next week.”

 

“Is that the shit you kicked me out of the house for last night?” Michael's question was sharp, the bitter feeling of getting turned down despite his seductive attempts (which may or may not have involved groping his boyfriend's dick and demanding that he fuck him).

 

The Alpha cringed. “Yeah. I'm still sorry for that.”

 

“Aren't you happy, Michael?” Gavin asked, sliding off Ray's desk to throw himself into his seat and slide over to the other Omega. He put his elbows on Michael's chair and leaned in, grinning. “You seemed so excited about the idea of a giant _Let’s Play_ with everyone so I racked my brain and thought of _Minecraft._ We can all do it and work together and play games and find diamond – it'll be top.”

 

Michael rolled his eyes.

 

“Michael,” Gavin whined, poking him, “Geoff and I worked really hard on it. You can't be even a little excited? Maybe just not scowl so hard?”

 

Michael slapped his hand away. “I'll scowl if I God damn want to!”

 

Gavin looked genuinely confused. “I thought you'd like it.”

 

“Well, you were fucking wrong,” Michael slouched in his chair. “I get to fucking sit beside you forever and now we're going to do a series in a stupid fucking game I've never played.”

 

Gavin tried to smile. “That's...that's half the fun. Isn't it? Something new with your friends?”

 

 _You're not my friend._ He wanted to say it but he couldn't watch Gavin's face crumple again. The Brit could usually take his anger but that felt too cruel to utter. He shoved Gavin's shoulder and then huffed but he didn't say another word against it.

 

Geoff clapped his hands. “Good. Excellent. Get to work.”

* * *

**I had to write Michael being a dick. Love that little brat. If you want to come visit me on[my tumblr](http://emono-omae.tumblr.com/), check me out.**

 


	20. Ryan and Ray VII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ray fucks up his score. Ryan shows how much he cares.

 

**The lovely and wonderful[buttsmut ](http://buttsmut.tumblr.com/)drew me some fanart. It is the best ever and I'm endlessly proud and excited about it. If you want to see them all, go [here](http://emono-omae.tumblr.com/post/89382724971/so-im-writing-an-omegaverse-fic-with). I'm going to put the other two she drew me in their respective chapters (she drew Burnie attacking Michael and Ray stalking Ryan from the past chapters). I think I may be falling in love with her, so get ready for that**

 

 

* * *

 

The COD _Let's Play_ was going well. Ray was in his element and it showed. The training he'd given Ryan had paid off because the Alpha was coming in second more times than not. The banter was great and everyone was just good enough at the game for it to be fun. All the recordings were on, every audio activated. They could do no wrong. Cheers and squawks and laughter came in abundance.

 

The group was so wrapped up in enjoying themselves that they didn't notice when their youngest went quiet. They high-fived those near them and whooped and turned off their equipment. Microphones were shoved aside and arms were stretched high over heads. Shoulders rolled and necks popped but everyone was grinning. It was a good high when things went right.

 

There was a ragged breath before a raw, animalistic cry filled the room.

 

Heads whipped around to watch Ray stand up from his desk, another yell ripping from his chest before he started to slam his controller down on the edge of the table. A string of harsh curses rolled off his tongue that even made Michael flinch. The controller only took five good smacks before it exploded, plastic shattering and whipping sharply past his face and arm.

 

“Whoa! Ray!” Geoff turned in his chair, hands waving frantically, “What the hell, kid? What happened?”

 

“I didn't switch to my other account!” Ray mourned, fingers raking through his hair so hard it looked like it hurt. “Oh my fucking God. I just fucked up my stats! My _perfect fucking_ stats. I've worked for months on that shit! My ratios are fucking shot!”

 

“Dude,” Michael breathed out. “It's just a score.”

 

“It's _my_ score!” Ray barked uncharacteristically. “You don't fucking get it because you're a fucking flash gamer, but this shit means something to me. It's the only thing I've got and now I fucked it up because I was too fucking stupid to just look at the screen! I'm such a fucking-”

 

The young gamer just made another of those rough sounds before he sat back down. He dragged his headphones on and angrily tapped at his keyboard until one of his achievement videos came up. He started to edit it, teeth showing in a grimace. Geoff got up and walked across the room to him.

 

Ryan made a face, “Geoff, I wouldn't.”

 

“Come on, kid, it'll be alright.” Geoff dropped a hand on the boy's shoulder and squeezed reassuringly.  “You'll fix it. We only played – what – six games? That's nothing.”

 

Ray reached up and grabbed the Alpha's hand, pulling it down and closer. Ryan only got to shot his boss's name before perfect white teeth flashed and buried in vulnerable flesh. Geoff yelped and yanked his hand back, the unpresented boy making a warning growl before he went back to his video. There were indents in the older man's skin and faint pinpricks of red. A new, faint tang of blood in the air. Michael was up out of his seat the moment his nose caught it but his Alpha put a hand up and shook his head.

 

“Let's, uh, go out to lunch and help Gus set up the next podcast, huh?” Geoff suggested, pointedly meeting the eyes of everyone in the room. “All of us.”

 

They cleared out, eyes lingering on their bristled up youngest. No one really blamed him. Ray took being unpresented personally and he tried to pour that frustration into perfecting his virtual skills. Everyone knew that when it came to first person shooters Ray was their best guy but the kid was intense about it.

 

It was one of the few things he took seriously.

 

o0o

 

It took Ray about half an hour before he could breathe properly again. He shucked off his headphones and dropped his head into his hands, teeth still itching from where they had sunk into Alpha flesh. He felt like a complete and total asshole. The anger he'd been consumed with earlier had faded into a simmer of frustration. His reputation was everything to him, especially his gamer reputation. It was why he hid his crush on Ryan and poured at least two hours every day into gaining achievements and rocking perfect headshots.

 

He picked up his phone and dialed Geoff.

 

“I'm sorry I went all 'Michael' there for a minute,” he apologized the moment the Alpha answered the phone. “That was really uncool.”

 

Geoff assured him all was forgiven and that he deserved to snap once in a while.

 

“Still,” Ray sighed, “Is there any way I can borrow a copy of Achievement City?”

 

“Why?” he echoed the Alpha's question, “Because I want to destroy something beautiful.”

 

There was a moment's pause.

 

“Yes, Geoff, that was _Fight Club._ Check your reference.”

 

When Ray hung up the Alpha's parting words echoed in his ears.

 

_'Ryan has a copy. Use his.'_

 

o0o

 

Ray got everything set up in record time. He settled deep into his chair, hands clasping a new controller while his headset tried to sync with the game. There was a little beep before he registered the open-air sound of a proper connection. Minecraft started to load up on his screen. He couldn't wait to set everything on fire and blow up every building and generally destroy it. It would be wonderfully therapeutic, he just knew it.

 

Ryan was across the compound in the back annex, still at his desk, and the game was technically coming from there. Geoff had made him promise not to give it out for any reason and Ryan had sheepishly offered to let him play on a shared server. Just to the two of them. He was sure the Alpha would just let it run as background, maybe on one of his smaller monitors and out of his way, but not this.

 

“ _How are you feeling over there?_ ”

 

Ryan's voice made him jump. Ray quickly adjusted his mic over his mouth and kind of sat up a little straighter like the man could see him.

 

“Better, I guess,” he replied. “I just need to do some destruction, you know? Get all that negative crap out of my system.”

 

“ _I understand. It’s cathartic leveling something that someone else spent a lot of time to build._ ”

 

“It sounds morbid as shit when you say it,” Ray grumbled. “So, do I need a password or...?”

 

“ _I've taken care of it._ ”

 

The Alpha's deep voice slid like velvet over his senses, making him hum happily.

 

The world popped to lie on screen. He was a little ways away from the city so he started toward it on memory alone, forgoing a map. He started packing his inventory with TNT and plucked up a lighter as well, ready and willing to blow Geoff's house first before setting fire to Gavin's little art collection. It was a weirdly satisfying thought. But when he dropped into the courtyard it all derailed to give way to confusion. His own little dirt house had risen up from the Earth and expanded out, arching up with hedge blocks and dark grass and dotted with roses. There was a little courtyard out front an d It had to be more than fifty blocks high, riddled with support beams and a glass ceiling while still being made out of dirt. It was distinctly _his_.

 

Ryan's avatar was standing there, screwing around with a diamond pickax and a chicken. “ _Oh, there you are._ ”

 

“What's this?”

 

“ _Check it out._ ”

 

Ray danced all around the building, eyes wide in wonder as he realized just how much work could have gone into something like this. He went inside and explored. It was a garden home. Every type of greenery _Minecraft_ offered had been used in one way or another. Enclosed but still open. He turned his character around and genuinely lost his breath. There was a dirt wall with a rose pattern cut out and filled with clear, colored glass. It was gorgeous.

 

He was gaping. “Oh shit.”

 

“ _What do you think?_ ”

 

“Ryan, dude, did you do this?”

 

“ _Maybe_.” He could almost see the Alpha sneaky little smirk. “ _I may have taken a copy of Achievement City to make some renovations._ ”

 

He swallowed thickly, palms sweating nervously. “I don't see any other changes.”

 

“ _Well, maybe this was just for you._ ”

 

“Really?” he couldn't help but ask, “Like, just because?”

 

“ _Just because. That, and I thought you'd like it. I have a little more spare time than I'd like._ ”

 

Ray squirmed in his seat. He was glad he was alone because anyone who saw the grin on his face would know how far gone he was.

 

“ _I was actually going to save it as a surprise but you were so upset today...I thought it'd be appropriate._ ” The kilted avatar ran up to him on screen, glancing at the pixelated stain glass window. “ _It took me a while to do that part. Do you...do you like it?_ ”

 

“Like it? Fuck you, man, I love it. Ten out of ten, would visit again.”

 

There was a sigh of relief over the line and it made his heart skip a beat. The Alpha had thought of him and his little dirt _Minecraft_ house. It was a sweet gesture, one that soothed that last rough edges of his anger and made each breath come smooth and easy.

 

“ _I'll let you get to it._ ”

 

“Wait, Ryan,” he spoke into the mic with a secretive whisper, “Do you wanna' stay? Play with me a bit?”

 

“ _Why, Mr. Narvaez, that sounds like a bonafied offer._ ”

 

Ray shivered at the implication. What he wouldn't give for something like that.

 

“ _Sure. Let's paint the town red...or blow it to smithereens, whatever._ ”

 

“Semantics.”

 

So Ryan tagged along as Ray happily skipped through all the painstaking work Geoff and Gavin had done and destroyed it with fire and TNT. The younger sung _Painting the Roses Red_ and did his best to make the Alpha laugh as they lost themselves for about two hours in a fantasy world. The other Hunters filed in and out of the office but Ray hardly noticed.

 

He was too busy letting his king show him the choice spots to turn to rubble. But through it all, Ray made sure to keep his new and improved house intact.

* * *

 

**Shamelessly inspired by[this video  
](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZzBNsAah_o)** ****These are posted out of sequence. Don't like that? That's perfectly fine. Check out the[linear link post](http://emono-omae.tumblr.com/post/99261946051/timeline-for-id-like-it-better-if-i-could-win-at-it) here on my blog to see everything in order.** ** ****[   
](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZzBNsAah_o)


	21. Geoff and Michael V (and a bit of Gavin)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Geoff knots Michael for the first time.

**I hope this smut is good. I tried really hard and I've been thinking about this for a while. To be honest, this is only my second attempt at Omegaverse and the first try was a bust. Here's to knotting.**

 

* * *

 

Geoff seemed to know when he needed a hard fuck after a long day. The moment they were in the house his Alpha had picked him up bridal style and carried him to the bedroom. Clothes had been shed with an eagerness that had left red-hot stripes across willing flesh. The taste of coffee and Red Bull didn't stop them from eating at one another's mouth, too hungry to give a fuck about anything other than getting as close as possible. The Omega was so wet they barely had to use any lube to ease the way, a rare feat outside of a heat. And when he'd tried to slip on a condom the other had shaken his head, demanding they go raw. It had taken some convincing but eventually the older man had given in. They'd decided last week that it would be alright to stop using rubbers but this was the first time they would go through with it.

 

Geoff had him on his knees, a forearm braced across the wings of his shoulders to keep him pinned. He loved the feeling of being pinned down and his Alpha was ready and willing to give him whatever he desired. When they'd first got together, Michael had whined and bitched every time he tried to take the man's impressive cock. It was a bit thicker than the other people he'd been with before and it had been months without a proper dick before they'd hooked up so it had been a lot to accept at first. But now…now it was one of his favorite things to do.

 

He made an absent note to convince Geoff to fuck him at work during lunch sooner rather than later.

 

Michael moaned into the ink on his arm, the Alpha's cock curved to drag over his spot just _this_ side of perfect. If he concentrated he could almost feel the barbell that pierced the head of his dick. The metal was always smooth against the roof of his mouth and felt fantastic teasing along his sensitive rim before he was taken. Geoff may have played brutal and controlling in bed but he was always careful to make sure his Omega got his pleasure first. It was a point of pride and he couldn't be more grateful. It was a heady thing to be the center of Geoff Ramsay's world. Every bite, every scratch, and every thrust was calculated to drive him higher into those proverbial clouds.

 

“Shit,” Michael cursed, his own cock grinding against the now-slick pillow the other had shoved under his hips to help keep them up.

 

“Getting close down there, baby?” He could almost hear the man's smirk but it only made him hotter.

 

“Fuck you.” But it was said with a smile, lust bubbling up in his stomach as he got pushed closer and closer to the edge. He bit down on his lower lip when he felt the swell of his Alpha's knot pushing against his stretched rim. When they fucked, Geoff made sure Michael came first on his cock and then would pull out and they'd finish him off in any number of interesting ways.

 

 _He's never knotted me_ , Michael panted wetly against his own arm, fingers scrambling for purchase in the flimsy sheet. _And he's bare. No fucking condom this time. I need it. Oh God, I need it, right now. It'd be so fucking good._

 

“Geoff,” he whined, reaching back blindly and flailing around until he slapped a hand on the man's hip.  He pushed back into each thrust, squeezing the flesh in a silent request to be bred like a bitch. (Yeah, he'd admit it, who fucking cared about masculinity when he was getting it this good?)

 

The Alpha loomed over him, deceptively firm stomach pressing against his back. A hand released his waist and curved down toward his cock. “I'll get you there.”

 

“No, wait,” Michael panted hard, trying to shake off the pleasant fog filling his head to put the right words together. Geoff snuffled into his neck, wrapping his arms around him reassuringly and stilling like he was afraid he'd hurt him. “Shh, it's okay. I'm fine. It's not like that. I just...Geoff...”

 

“I'm right here,” Geoff rasped into his ear, sitting up on his knees and taking the Omega with him. He kissed a scratchy path down his pale neck, revisiting all the bruising marks he'd left when they'd fallen into bed. Michael pushed against him, hand still on the older man's hip as their bodies slotted together in a familiar way that made his dick throb and his heart lighten. He stretched his other arm back and let Geoff and his knees support his full weight as he grabbed a handful of dark hair.

 

“Knot me.”

 

The cock deep within him throbbed. The feeling made him keen.

 

“Michael,” Geoff nipped him on the tip of his ear as a small punishment, “We've never talked about this. We said maybe during your heat but not just – this is important and I – _God damn it,_ would you stop bearing down on me?”

 

“No,” Michael smirked, clenching on the thick flesh once more to try and get his way, “Just fucking do it.”

 

Geoff snagged the hand tangled in his hair and ripped it out, twisting the whole arm up the younger man's back and forcing him to bend how he wanted. The other snaked down to wrap around his Omega's pretty, pink cock and squeeze. “Beg me.”

 

Michael growled through his teeth in frustration, trying to rock back but getting stilled by the grip the man had on his arm. The hand on him felt great but the pressure stopped his climbing pleasure in its tracks. He shook his head and tried to escape but there was no real fight to it and he ended up just wiggling on the cock he was impaled on. _Wouldn't have it any other way._

 

“Beg for it, baby,” Geoff demanded, fingers easing down to tightly grasp the Omega's balls. “Beg Daddy to give you his fat knot.”

 

“Oh _God._ ”

 

The last came out as a high pitched cry, the words piercing through all lucid thought and breaking down his defenses. His Alpha didn't just knew his body, he knew what mental buttons to push as well.

 

“Please. Geoff, please, I – fuck.” He clawed at the man's hip with his free hand, words starting to spill out of him faster and hotter as each second he wasn't getting fucked ticked by. “I want it, I've always wanted it. You know – _uhn_ – I have.”

 

There was a smirk pressed against the back of his neck. “You can do better, baby boy.”

 

“Oh come on, I-”

 

His arm was twisted harder at the same moment his Alpha's hand stroked up the length of his cock from base to crown. It unplugged his brain and pure endorphins flooded his already overworked system.

 

“Knot me,” he wheezed, laying his head back on Geoff's shoulder to bare his throat as his body relaxed submissively. “It'll feel so good. I'll be so tight for you, Daddy, I swear. I want to feel you in me, want you tied in so well none of it drips out. Please, Daddy, _Alpha_ , I...God, I...”

 

Michael's voice crackled to a dry sob, the thick head of the man's cock grinding straight on his prostate.  His arm was released in favor of his hair. Geoff used the leverage to force him back down onto the bed, hips settling right back on the pillow. His dick slid against the cooled fabric and the graze nearly made him wince but in a delicious way that made him shudder. The Alpha covered him, hips moving with renewed fervor as he drove into his pliant body with purpose. A whimpering noise started ringing in Michael's ears as swollen flesh tried to ease inside him. It took him too long to realize he was the one making it.

 

“I know, baby boy, I know,” Geoff purred soothingly into his ear, petting through his hair, cupping the curve of his hip and thigh for leverage. “It'll be a close fit but that's what you want, don't you?”

 

He managed to nod, canting up his ass and pressing into the fingers touching him so sweetly.

 

“It's big but you'll take it.” He got bit on the swell of his shoulder and it felt like white hot sparks in his spine. “Your body's so good to me. _You're_ so good to me. You've just got to let me in. Just open up for me, baby. Let me have you.”

 

“ _Geoff_!”

 

Geoff grabbed the boy's shoulder and pulled him in as he thrust, his knot popping in to the music of his Omega's candy-sweet moans. Michael didn't last long after that, trembling and fucking back into him until he blew all over their spare pillow. The rhythmic flutter of muscle coaxed out Geoff's own release.  The rush of heat inside him was glorious, touching him so deep he couldn’t help but blush at the thought. He’d smell bred and claimed for days.

 

“I've still got you,” Geoff promised, going to move them both on their sides to alleviate the eventual ache and pressure but his Omega growled at him to stop.

 

Michael grabbed at the man's arm and tugged him until he laid along his back, full weight on him. “Just get down here, asshole.”

 

“I don't want to crush you.”

 

“I'm trying to have a moment with you and you're pissing on it.”

 

Geoff laughed and settled comfortably over his Omega. He trailed kisses over the boy's soft shoulder and laced their legs together so he could rest in the sweet warmth of his body more comfortably for them both. The closeness made them both chitter like animals in the back of their throats and rub their noses all over whatever they could reach. Michael scented his Alpha's wrist and scrubbed his cheek over the delicate skin, imprinting all those pheromones that made his brain loopy.

 

“You're gorgeous,” Geoff confessed under his breath.

 

“Mm-hmm.”

 

“How do you feel?”

 

“Really fucking full,” Michael admitted with a little shake of his hips that reminded him just how big his Alpha was, “But I like it.”

  
“It's not too much?” he asked hesitantly.

 

Michael shook his head and craned his head back for an awkward kiss that made them both smile. “We're both greedy, remember? I want as much of you as I can get.”

 

o0o

 

About an hour later, Michael left his snoring Alpha in bed in search of a cold bottle of water. He was rifling through the fridge when he heard the pitter-patter of little British feet.

 

“Gotcha!”

 

He turned and raised a brow just as Gavin went to tickle him. The other Omega stopped and sniffed, pupils blowing out as the scent of _happy mate_ hit his senses. He got close and scented all around his friend, grin splitting his face when he finally realized what was different. “Oooh, lovely, Michaell'.”

 

“Shut the fuck up, Gavin.” He was too happy to put any bite in his tone. When Gavin got real close to his neck to sniff he tilted his head a little, inviting it. Anyone would think that he was showing off, showing the other Omega that the Alpha in the house was his and no one else’s. But all he could think of was that he wanted to share this first experience with Gavin. Having someone knot you was something special and worthy of celebration.

 

“Was it good?” Gavin asked vaguely, barely able to hold back asking the other gamer all about the knotting.

 

“Gav, boy, it was fucking top.”

 

Gavin did a little jig in place before he seemed to get smacked upside the head with a thought. “Do you need anything? Water? Food? I could make you something quick or grab some pills if you hurt.”

 

He eyed the other Omega a little closer. “Nah, man, I'm good. Thanks though. I mean it.”

 

“Good, good,” Gavin replied distractedly, rubbing his hands across his his shirt, “I'll leave you two to it. It's important after knotting for the first time to scent bond and stuff.”

 

“Where'd you learn that?”  


“Just because America's educational system is in the bloody pot doesn't mean the rest of the world is too. I listened in Health class.”

 

He grabbed a bottle of water and tilted it toward the other. “That makes one of us. Night, man.”

 

“Good night, Michael.”

 

He didn't miss the way Gavin caught one last whiff of him before he left the kitchen. It should have annoyed him but the tingle in his chest was for a whole different reason.

 


	22. Mini-Drabble: Ryan and Ray

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My, what big arms you have, Ryan Haywood

Team Lads (plus Jack, for once) had fled the office the moment the _Let’s Play_ was over. They had all been bitching about the lack of Taco Bell in their lives and left in a whirlwind of whooping.

 

Geoff leaned back in his seat, fingers laced behind his head. “It’s quite a thing to be twenty four and full of energy.”

 

“I seem to remember running around a lot,” Ryan laughed softly, getting up from his temporary desk and walking over to plop down beside the other Alpha.

 

Geoff full on grinned when he noticed it was Ray’s chair that had been occupied. “So, Ryan, dude. Your arms are looking kind of big these days. You been hitting the gym?”

 

He shrugged with one shoulder, “Yeah, maybe.”

 

“Huh,” Geoff snorted. “That’s weird. Because I remember you said you hated those places. The words ‘full of nothing but knotheads’ ring a bell.”

 

“There’s nothing wrong about wanting to get in shape,” Ryan replied, just a little too defensively to be casual.

 

“Sure, yeah,” the older Alpha stretched his legs out a little further, hips popping and fixing back into place. “You know, I think Ray’s scent is changing. He could present any day now.”

 

“Really? I didn’t notice.” It was a stupid lie and they could both tell. Ryan was good at covering up what he felt but once someone found a crack in his armor he was shit about lying.

 

“I’ve got my money on him being an Omega,” Geoff couldn’t stop smirking if he wanted to, feeling smug in having figured out the attraction between the two of them. “And if that’s true, which I’m pretty sure it is, a sweet, trusting kid like that is going to need a strong Alpha to protect him.”

 

But Ryan wasn’t smiling. His sharp gaze was firmly rooted out the window to the parking lot. On the other side of the glass, Burnie had somehow cornered Monty up against his car and was trying to sweet talk in his ear. Their token Asian didn’t seem be interested in a single thing the man was saying and his expression was turning more and more murderous. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

 

Burnie’s hand ran just under Monty’s shirt and the smaller man struck true and swift, catching him right in the chest. The Alpha visibly lost his breath and staggered back. Monty shouldered past him and made a beeline to his own car. Burnie shouted something vulgar after him but the Omega just give him both fingers before driving away.

 

The leftover coffee taste in Geoff’s mouth turned sour. “Ray’s going to need an Alpha who’s willing to fight for him. Maybe even get his hands dirty.”

 

“It's the Stone Age all over again.”

 

That wasn’t a disagreement.

 

“You're telling me.”

 

 


	23. Mini-Drabble: Geoff, Michael, and Gavin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael doesn't want to admit he's been thinking about it without making sure his Alpha would be okay with it first.

**This was SUPPOSED to be a mini-drabble but Michael will not be short sheeted**

* * *

 

 _This is a stupid idea._ Michael chewed his thumbnail, waiting impatiently at Ryan’s empty desk. He kept glancing at Monty. The Omega was sleeping peacefully at his desk, head occasionally dipping over the back of his chair. _But I don’t trust any other Alphas. And Joel’s a moron. Love the guy, but he’s an idiot. Maybe Barbara but she’s really intimidating._

 

“Oh. Hi, Michael,” Ryan greeted, looking up from his tablet. He took his glasses off and eased around the desk to sit down, smiling at the boy who was clearly giving off waves of distress. For an Alpha he almost never saw outside work, Ryan was good at calming Omegas with an effective combo of his smile and his scent. Michael inhaled deeply and his stomach rumble; the Alpha always smelled like food and it was making him hungry. “What are you doing out here in the boonies?”

  
“I’ve got a question for you, and you can’t tell Geoff I asked.”

 

Ryan sat up a little straighter but nothing else about him changed. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. I mean, I’d consider us friends, but Geoff’s your Alpha.”

 

“Yeah, yeah,” Michael griped, waving his hand, “I’ve heard all about your stupid Alpha rules that no one talks about. He’s not your boss but he’s a pack leader or some other wolf bullshit.”

 

Ryan tutted. “Dynamics are an important part of our society, Michael. It’s what allows Alpha’s to exist together in a close environment like this with a bunch of horny Omegas who can’t keep pumping out pheromones though they’re clearly taken.”

 

“What the hell does that mean?”

 

A blonde brow raised at him. “You get wood at work and you make Geoff all snappy.”

 

Michael fluttered his lashes at him and pursed his lips, reminding the Alpha a lot of Lindsay when she’d first started, “Am I distracting you, Ryan? Do I smell good?”

 

“You smell taken and obnoxious. I hate artificial cherries.”

 

They broke into matching grins.

 

“So what is it? You might as well ask since you made the hike out here.”

 

Michael tensed, remembering his earlier hesitation. “Uh…I don’t know if you’d know or anything. But, like, have you ever heard of two Omegas hooking up?”

 

The way the Alpha frowned made him regret every choice he’d made in the past half hour.

 

“Yeah, actually.”

 

He perked up. “Really?”

 

“My aunts are both Omegas,” Ryan continued, throwing up the project he’d been working on before he’d gone to talk to Brandon. “They’ve been together for twenty years or something.”

 

Michael pushed off the desk, hands digging into his pockets in an anxious gesture he wanted to hide. “Did they have an Alpha at one point?”

 

Ryan nodded, mind already whirring back into work mode. “They shared one, my uncle, but he passed away a couple years ago. When it happened they couldn’t be separated for any amount of time. It was kind of like they rebounded. They still miss him and everything but they managed to get through it together. Actually, it’s really cute.”

 

“That’s fucking creepy.”

 

Eyes rolled in exasperation. “Omegas are cute together anyways. They just interact different than they do with Alpha or Alpha do with each other. From what I’ve seen, it’s a special bond unlike anything else. My aunts are one of the happiest couples I know.”

 

“So…how did they do it?”

 

“Now who’s creepy?”

 

“You know what I mean, dickbag.”

 

“They both took his bite and they got these little matching tattoos on their wrists that complete each other when they’re side by side.” Ryan slipped on his glasses with a fond smile. “They all loved each other. And I assumed they shared everything.”

 

“And they didn’t fight about it?”

 

“No more than any other couple.”

 

The Alpha made a face. “There was one time when my aunt Cheryl stepped out on them for some Beta. Just to see what it was like, I guess. It was a one night thing and they forgave her and everything but I distinctly remember going with my mom to pick up Aunt Lucille _and_ my uncle from a holding cell.”

 

“Why?” Michael grunted.

 

“Because Lucille clawed the Beta’s face so bad they agreed to pay for four plastic surgeries just so she didn’t go to jail.”

 

“And your uncle?”

 

“His only injury was what he got from Lucille when he tried to pull her off the Beta. Apparently the guy was begging for his life.”

 

“Sounds brutal,” he huffed.

 

He shrugged. “My family doesn’t fuck around, and Omegas can be fierce when something of theirs is threatened.”

 

“Or you’re a bunch of psychopaths.”

 

“That could also be true.”

 

o0o

 

Michael picked up the food that night and let Geoff watch his stupid ESPN crap (sportsball or something). The Alpha was lounging like a lazy cat on the couch, content and a moment away from purring. His legs were sprawled lazily and one arm laid limp on the back of the couch while the other curled around his Omega. Michael half laid on his chest, legs stretched out the length of the cushions and beanie discarded on the floor. They were enjoying each other and the peace of the evening. Gavin was at Ray’s house (for real this time) and it was strangely quiet.

 

“So, if I wanted to play with someone, how mad would you be? On a scale of shrugging to fucking me in front of everyone in the office mid-rut?”

 

Geoff immediately growled, the hand resting on the boy’s arm tightening painfully. “What the fuck did you just say?”

 

Michael hushed him soothingly, moving easily to straddle the man’s lap. He cupped his furry jaw and kissed him as tenderly as he could. Geoff didn’t relax and he knew he had to explain. “Not another Alpha. I’m not talking about that.”

 

“I’m not sharing you, Michael, you’re mine.” The Alpha flinched, hurt coming over his face. “Do you…want _more_? Am I not giving you enough? If there’s anything I could do, I’ll-”

 

Michael licked the rest of his words right out of his mouth, running his hands over every patch of skin that had a scent gland beneath it. The start of panic in his Alpha made him sick to his stomach but he knew he had to ask.

 

“An Omega.”

 

Geoff was positively stunned. “Are you serious?”

 

“If I wanted to play with another Omega, would you be angry?” Michael asked, slow and careful.

 

“I…I honestly don’t know.”

 

Michael closed in until their noses bumped, lips barely grazing. “Gavin.”

 

Geoff’s jaw dropped comically. “Michael-”

 

“Don’t,” he bit out, holding the Alpha by the hair. “I don’t want to talk about it. Just a yes or no answer. Would you let me mess around without fucking us up? Because if you think you can’t handle that, I’ll understand and we’ll never talk about it again. It’s a lot to ask.”

 

“Just-”

 

“Yeah, just him.”

 

Geoff’s hand slid up under his jaw and curled around his neck, dragging him in that last scant inch for a deep kiss that reduced him to a whimper. They only pulled away when the Omega’s lips were red and slick from his Alpha’s tongue.

 

“Only Gavin.”

 

“Yeah,” he nodded, the man’s hand still tight on his windpipe, “Wanna’ seal the deal with a good, old fashioned couch fuck?”

 

“You betcha’.”


	24. Ryan and Ray VIII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ray thinks he may have a chance.

( _art courtesy of 0dalesque_ )

* * *

 

Ray laughed loud enough for it to echo through the annex. For the first time he was comfortable and he wasn’t hiding behind the makeshift walls that divided up the area. He was leaning against Ryan’s desk and enjoying the Alpha’s stupid jokes while the others struggled to get the _Let’s Play_ set up. Ryan was the go-to guy when there was technical difficulties but Jack and Geoff were adamant about doing it themselves this time. He’d followed the older man back here when he was forcibly kicked from the room and now they were just a foot or two apart, actually making eye contact and talking like people.

 

_Dreams do come true._

 

“But then I realized that was too close to cannibalism and decided to leave the party.”

Ray shook his head. “Extreme body shots. Who would’ve known?”

 

“Face-munching was not on my list of things to do that night.”

 

“Well, friendship is two pals munching on a well-cooked face together.”

 

A surprised, bark of a laugh escaped the Alph and he quickly covered his mouth. “I’m sorry. That was hilarious.”

 

“Weren’t you referencing _Llamas with Hats_?”

 

“You’re the reference guy.”

 

“Ryan, dude, you’re the Everything Guy,” Ray sighed with exaggeration, but then he realized what that meant and he nearly tripped over the Alpha to get at his computer. “You’ve never _seen Llamas with Hats_? Have you been living under a rock? We’re watching all of them right now. I’ve seen them like a hundred times and I still crack up.”

 

Side by side, they watched the videos with growing enthusiasm. They didn’t get to the second one before Ryan was losing his shit, fist to his mouth and little choked chuckles spilling into it. His cheeks got all rosy and his chest shook as he tried not to bray loud enough to catch everyone’s attention. He was clearly ready to start losing his shit. Ray laughed with less inhibition, the videos striking his funny bone just as easy as they always had.

 

Lindsay came in to the annex and came at them with quick feet though neither noticed right away. She looked flustered and ready to snap necks but that didn’t slow her down. She hip-bumped Ray out of the way with a grunted apology. The sudden bump knocked him off-balance and she moved right into his space, forcing him to back up. His heel caught on the chair and he would’ve toppled over if two large hands hadn’t clamped down on his hips. He was pulled onto the Alpha’s lap and his cheeks flared hot and he immediately tried to get back up but there was no room without forcing the older man to move back or Lindsay to stand aside. She was rifling through the desk with an admirable determination.

 

“Sorry, I’ll-”

 

“Nah, you’re fine.” Ryan sounded like he meant it and used his grip to shift the younger gamer more comfortably before he let him go in favor of clicking on the compilation video. “Can we watch them again?”

 

“Hell yeah,” he replied, voice cracking in the middle as he struggled to keep cool.

 

So while Lindsay scribbled down a list of things and fiddled between the two digital cameras she’d pulled from the drawer, the two men went back to enjoying the pure comedy of two animated llamas.

 

“You’re Carl, you know that, right?”

 

“I’m not Carl!”

“Bullshit you’re not.”

 

Ray tried not to squirm around but the Alpha’s legs were warm even through two layers of denim. There was a hand resting casually low on his thigh as if to brace him if he fell but otherwise it was just like having to sit on Geoff or Jack during lunch breaks in cars that weren’t made for a huge group of people. He was always the smallest in his family so it wasn’t exactly an unfamiliar position. But this was intimate. Even if he wasn’t an Omega, anyone who looked over would know they were close, that they were friends. _And maybe it’s not so crazy that he could look at me like I look at him._

 

Ray pressed down how weird and exposed he felt and just let him enjoy the moment in case he never got it again.

 

o0o

 

 _Minecraft_ had never been more entertaining or more obnoxious (at least for everyone who wasn't part of the R&R Connection). Their banter was on point and everyone was eating their dust trying to keep up with them. It was a test run for Geoff's newest idea “Potions” and they weren't even sure if the footage was going to be used. Everyone was running around at first but it quickly became clear that R&R were riding a different high.

 

Ray looked up from the mine-shaft that he and Jack were down, eyes going wide when he spotted water hurling over the sides. “Ryyyyyyyyyyyan.”

 

The drawn out parody of “Carl” had been used several imes throughout the video (much to the confusion of Gavin and Jack, who'd never seen them).

 

“What?”

 

“Did you drop water to fill up this cave?”

 

“What? Sabotage your mining? Nope, not me, that is my least favorite thing to do.”

 

“Then what am I standing in?”

 

“Melted gumdrops?” Ryan smirked as the Puerto Rican's groan rang through the headsets. “Some of God's tears?”

 

It came to an escalation when Ray got bunted by Gavin so hard his avatar fell and all his gubs spewed across the ground. “Ah! Gavin! I was so close! When I get back over there...”

 

“No! X-Ray! Forgive me!” Gavin squealed, sprinting from the city as fast as he could to keep ahead of his new tuxedo-clad enemy. He started screaming as he ran straight into Ryan's diamond sword and his screen flashed red, his own guns spewing like a fountain around his death point.

 

“Consider yourself forgiven, Gavin,” Ryan cackled loudly, collecting up the items for his own inventory.

 

“How is that forgiveness?” Gavin squawked, thrashing around in his chair.

  
“That's what forgiveness sounds like, Gavin. Screaming and then silence.”

 

“God, Ryan, what is up with you today?” Michael snickered.

 

“Well, I kill creepers and I eat hands, that's two things.”

 

Ray had to pull away from his mic and laugh, the sound trailing off into a wheeze before picking up again. He couldn't stop; it felt like his entire chest was unwinding and he had to hunch over himself to try and stop. He shed his glasses and rubbed his wet eyes, breathy chuckles still spouting from him. It was too funny and the day had been too much not to. It seemed Ryan fed off that energy and laughed as well, the sound much deeper and right in his ears. He moved his headphones off to hear it from across the room and it was beyond amazing. The Alpha shot him a toothy grin with his tongue kind of peeking out between them.

 

The childish expression had him rolling to the floor, heaving and giggling.

 

“You're an absolute loon, Ray,” Gavin said solemnly before he too burst into laughter.

 

Geoff put the microphone closer to his mouth and sighed, “JJ, take out Ryan and Ray's flirting. It's making me nauseous.”

 

 

 

 


	25. Geoff, Michael, and Gavin II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> His life was either a cheap porn or a raunchy rom-com.
> 
> Gavin would never call himself voyeuristic but he couldn't help but watch Geoff and Michael.

**This is my Facebook right now. And I'm not even ashamed.[Buttsmut](http://buttsmut.tumblr.com/) did some great art for me with her cute little Ray and *squeeze*. I did [a post](http://emono-omae.tumblr.com/post/89664085311/buttsmuts-newest-art-for-me-and-what-my-facebook) about it crediting the artists and everything because [I'm shameless](http://emono-omae.tumblr.com/). Enjoy the smut!**

 

* * *

 

It was only a matter of time before he caught them fucking. Michael was a healthy Omega and Geoff completely adored him. Gavin knew they bonked on the regular and Michael spent three nights a week at the Ramsay compound. It was simple statistics. But he sucked at math and he had no idea how much it was going to turn his world on its side.

 

Gavin wasn't even sure why he went to Geoff's bedroom. Though he could smell Michael everywhere, he was sure the other Omega had gone home for the night. He'd wanted to talk to his friend about a new _Minecraft_ idea he had but he'd only got as far as the door. It was partway open and the bed was visible. Cream colored blankets were pushed aside, pillows askew like they'd been nudged by elbows and kicked by rogue feet. They didn't hear him approach and he put a hand over his mouth to stifle his gasp and mask the enticing smell trying to curl into his nose.

 

It felt like a cheap porn or a raunchy rom-com.

 

Michael was low on his knees in the middle of the bed, all those miles of pale skin slick with sweat and decorated in lovely red bites. Teeth marks littered the insides of his forearms, his thighs, and spotted a trail from just beneath his chin all the way down to the temptingly silky skin above his dick. Michael was so _smooth_. It inspired a little irk of jealousy but mostly it made his cock throb. He was hit by the urge to sink his teeth right beside Geoff's marks, mirroring them, splashing some pink beside the angry red. Almost-ginger curls bounced with each thrust, some sticking to his forehead and threatening to get in his darkened eyes. His mouth was wet and open, lips all swollen as if the Alpha had fucked it first before moving on to his ass. Gavin couldn't help but let his eyes fall between the Omega's thighs ( _God, they're so soft, I want to nuzzle them_ ) to study his cock. He knew genetically they weren't built to compete with Alphas but Michael's length was generous. It was smooth of any knot and so amazingly pink. His mouth started to water just imagining how easy he could get it down his throat. His gag reflex was terrible and he knew from past experience it was difficult to do it for an Alpha. But it was that perfect thickness that wouldn't choke him and he knew he could go for a long time and make Michael fall apart in a way he'd never forget.

 

Geoff's hand caught his gaze. Inked skin and strong tendons, fingers laying right over his Omega's throat like a brand. His hair was messy, sweat beading across his forehead and everywhere else Gavin could see past Michael's body. The Alpha was behind him, fingers hooking in the younger man's side to give him the power he'd need to fuck hard into his willing body. There was an almost brutal smirk on his face as he dragged his nails up to rake over the flat, dark flesh of his Omega's nipple. Michael's breath hitched and the nub tightened, peaking, begging for a mouth to suck on it.

 

They both looked bloody hot as sin and twice as appealing.

 

Beneath the near-constant moaning and slap of lustful flesh there were words, Michael's lips forming around them almost silently at first but they grew in volume as he got more worked up. The moment Gavin realized what he was saying all blood went south and what was mild interest before became painful arousal in just a few seconds.

 

“Daddy, please,” Michael begged shamelessly, just the barest hint of breathlessness in his pleading, “Take it off. It...it hurts.”

 

There was slick between Gavin’s cheeks, he could feel it. His blushed fire-hot when he realized how badly this was turning him on.

 

Geoff's hand tightened. “My sweet little brat. You were begging for this all day. Mouthing off to Daddy, bending over in front of the other office Alphas. They had their eyes all over you, baby boy, but I'm the only one who's going to fuck you. You'll get off when _I_ say, you understand me?”

 

Michael cried out as he was drawn back further, body as tight as a bow and showing off the gleaming silver circling the base of his cock. “Y-Yes.”

 

“Yes, what?”

 

Gavin gaped at the way the other Omega wet his lips and managed to spread his legs even further, opening himself to whatever the Alpha wanted. “Yes, Daddy.”

 

The kiss Geoff placed on the boy's cheek was gentle, a contrast to the bruising grip on his neck. “That's a good boy. Daddy's gonna' spill all over your pretty, spanked ass and then I'll let you finish in my mouth. You want that, baby? You want me to suck you off?”

 

“God yes.”

 

Gavin ran back to his room and had barely closed the door before he had his hands down his pants, fisting his hard cock a bit too harshly as the scene played through his head. He mixed in a fantasy where he had the balls to join in. He'd march in the room like he belonged and swallow Michael's cock until the other Omega cried in frustration and bliss. Or maybe Geoff would order him to kneel and watch, a fake cock up inside him to keep him on edge or his hands tied behind his back so he couldn't touch himself until it was his turn.

 

Gavin bit the side of his hand as he came, sticky seed striping across the elastic of his boxers and the inside of his sweats. His knuckles were white when he pulled them out, a tangible mark of his guilt.

 

He had no right to be jerking off over a mated pair. Maybe they didn't have any official bond but they were as good as. They were in love. You'd have to be dumb and deaf not to see it. Their affection was shown in the way Geoff would slide Red Bull out from under the Omega's nose to replace it with coffee and granola bars. The way Michael consistently pushed their boss's buttons but then would curl up to him at the end of the recordings and nuzzle his neck as a silent apology. It was in the way Geoff gazed at the Omega when he started raging and the way Michael would oh-so-carefully pry the alcohol out of his Alpha's drunk hands after he'd had too many. They smiled with their eyes at each other over the rims of coffee mugs and willingly shared every scrap of food they got their hands on like they were worried the other would starve if they didn't take care of them.

 

 _I'm a right tosser_ , he thought bitterly, cleaning himself up with a discarded towel. His friends didn't deserve a spare Omega hovering around them all the time but he was glad they let him in anyway. The shame just strengthened his vow to make sure they were happy and safe with one another. _I'll show them I'm worth keeping around._

 

What Gavin didn't know was that after Michael was sated and ready to start sleeping, Geoff had walked out of the bedroom and started sniffing around.

 

“What do your Elf eyes see, Legolas?” Michael quoted, arm tossed over his eyes.

 

“I think Gavin was out here,” Geoff mused. “Just for a second but I thought I smelled him while we were busy.”

 

“Busy dicking,” Michael snorted, rolling over onto his stomach and squinting blearily at his Alpha. “Do you think he was watching?”

 

Geoff shrugged but they both felt a faint buzzing in the pits of their stomachs that hinted they wouldn't be too upset if he was. But neither said anything and they decided to call it a night.


	26. Ray Presents - Part One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It happened too slowly for anyone to pick up on right away.
> 
> “Please don't make me do this alone.”
> 
> (or, as a commenter said)
> 
> PRESENTING:  
> A NARVEAZ CHANGE OF THE SEASON. FEAT GEOFF. WHOS A REALLY FUCKIN GOOD DAD MAN. GO HIM

**Everyone was asking for it and you guys seemed to be split down the middle. I solved the problem...by also splitting it down the middle. Don't be mad, this is only the first half.**

* * *

 

 It happened too slowly for anyone to really pick up on.

 

“Stop, stop, stop, fucking _stop it_!” Geoff finally lost his patience, throwing off his headphones and scrubbing his hands over his ears. “I'm going to shove that ice up your ass!”

 

Ray stopped mid-chew, staring wide-eyed at his boss. A Styrofoam cup full of Coke-flavored ice was in his hand and he immediately put it back on the table. He moved away from his mic and finished off the chips in his mouth. “Sorry, boss-man.”

 

“Just fucking throw it away, kid,” Geoff slowly replaced his headphones. “It's like nails on a chalkboard through the speakers.”

 

Ray glanced around and noticed the pained expressions Gavin and Jack's faces, _Trials_ paused on their screens. “Shit, guys, my bad.”

  
“Are you hungry or something, man?” Michael asked curiously. “I've got some stuff in my desk.”

 

He waved it off. “I'm good. My teeth are just kind of itchy and the ice feels good.” 

 

“That's weird.”

 

“Tell me about it.” He picked up his controller. “Let's play, bitches.”

 

o0o

 

Gavin laughed heartily as he dipped his hand in the trash can and came up with a fistful of blue wrappers. “Bloody hell, Ray, how many stomachs do you have?”

 

“Hm?” Ray hummed over a mouthful of Rice Krispie treat.

 

Jack turned away from his editing and smiled, amused. “How many does that make today?”

 

“Today?” Michael snorted, “Try in three days. Isn't that your third box?”

 

Ray glanced down at the family-sized box of sweets that was sitting by his chair. “Uh...I don't know. I guess so.”

 

“Three boxes? Jesus.” Geoff walked over and tilted the box. “Fifty-four in a box, three boxes, three days. That's...that's a fucking box a day. Kid, slow the fuck down, your pancreas is going to burst.”

 

“I've got a fast metabolism,” Ray shrugged, shoveling the rest of it in his mouth to make a point.

 

Geoff just huffed and rolled his eyes. “Children. Jack, text me if he slips into a fucking diabetic coma, alright?”

 

o0o

 

Ray just thought he was getting sick. He was achy and exhausted all the time and his muscles started to hurt, joints throbbing so bad at night he had to take some over the counter pain meds just to get to sleep. And when he did sleep there were confusing nightmares that left him unsettled and awake playing _Call of Duty_ at six in the morning. He tried to fuel himself with caffeine but it only upset his stomach. He'd be high energy one moment and then dragging his feet the next. It was upsetting but he dealt with it. He wasn't going to let the flu or whatever keep him from doing what he loved. Thankfully video games didn't take a whole lot of energy.

 

And his fucking skin itched.

 

“Ray, dude, sit still for five minutes, wouldya'?” Michael teased in a slow drawl, “You're acting like Gavin over there but I know you're not three-fourths bird.”

 

“I'm not a ruddy bird, Michael!” Gavin called, hearing the insult despite the video he was supposed to be editing.

 

“Sure, Gav, sure,” the Jersey boy fluttered his fingers at him. “Squawk-babble-whine-squawk. I heard you.”

 

“You're such a tit.”

 

Ray scratched into his hair in a frantic attempt to soothe the itch that kept coming back. His sides and legs were already covered in scratches from his short nails but nothing seemed to soothe it. He knew he'd have to give in and ask Tina to help him find some anti-irritation lotion or something. “I think that new laundry detergent is fucking me up. Christ, I'm so itchy.”

 

“Allergies can develop pretty late in life,” Jack offered with a sympathetic smile. “I'll have Caiti bring some non-scented hypoallergenic stuff tonight when she picks me up.”

 

“Really man?” Ray sighed, nails still digging a particularly rough patch behind his ear. “You're my fucking best friend right now because I don't know how much longer I can take this.”

 

“Don't worry. It should fix it right up.”

 

o0o

 

Michael and Gavin decided to join Team Gents in the nearest break room for a feast of BBQ that Geoff had let slow cook all night and brought in heavy Tupperware. Joel and Barbara were lingering by the door, growling at anyone who came sniffing by for some food. They were great Alpha bodyguards and the only payment they took was good food. They were all bullshitting and spooning the deliciously tender meat onto paper plates, fork scraping quietly with a background of happy moans.

 

“This is...ridiculously good,” Ryan admitted, licking some sauce off his thumb, “I'd like to think I can cook well for myself but this is a whole new level.”

 

Geoff gestured with his fork. “Thank the beautiful and talented Griffon. Without her I wouldn't be nearly as good. She taught me everything I know.”

 

“She was a lovely woman,” Gavin added, shoveling in another bite and talking around it, “God bless her.”

 

“Yeah, yeah,” Michael grumbled, reluctantly admitting he owed her for whipping his Alpha into the shape he found him in. “You've gotta' bring her around sometime. We should meet.”

 

“Yeah, go fuck yourself,” Geoff shot his Omega a wink that took out the heat. “She'd take you down in a heartbeat, kid.”

 

Michael was about to start spouting off his prowess and how he used to beat the shit out of kids on the playground but Joel's voice stopped him. “Ray?”

 

Said gamer came in the room and looked around, tongue darting along the seam of his dry lips. He darted over to the fridge and pulled it open, eyes roaming over the shelves until he found what he was looking for. He pulled out Kara's fancy self-filtering, 1000ml Camelbak filled to the brim with water. Ray closed his teeth on the tip and started sucking noisily, eyes kind of dull and staring at nothing in particular.

 

“Dude,” Joel protested, “Just fucking grab a bottle of water out of the machine or drink from the tap.”

 

Ray shook his head, the clear tip never leaving his mouth as he spoke. “Bought four already. And tap tastes like shit.”

 

No one was quite sure what to do but then Ray unscrewed the cap and tossed it aside, chugging from the rim. Not a drop spilled from his lips and his throat worked hard to take it all down. They watched 10ml at a time disappear into the man's slim body and eyebrows were raised.

 

“Kid?” Geoff pressed, hand throbbing with a phantom of the past bite. “Maybe you should slow down a bit?”

 

Ray didn't even pause.

 

The Alpha set aside his plate and went over to him. “Ray, dude, I'm serious. It's not good for you to drink that much even if you're dehydrated. You're going to waterlog yourself.”

 

Ray slapped a hand on the man's chest before he got to close and shot him a glare, water still pouring down his gullet. Geoff raised his hands in surrender and backed up, still carefully eyeing his intake. About halfway through the Camelbak the boy started to cough. He took the bottle away long enough to go over to the sink and heave, every drop coming right back up and swirling down the drain. It was a painful sound and they all kind of cringed and looked at one another.

 

The moment Ray raised the lip back to his mouth Ryan stepped in, putting a hand on the boy's back and the other on top of the bottle. “Stop.”

 

“But-”

 

“I said _stop_ ,” he couldn't stop the Alpha-infused growl. “I don't care how thirsty you are, I'm not going to let you hurt yourself. Put it down.”

 

“Ryan-”

 

“I won't tell you again.”

 

The low, unyielding tone made the boy shiver before he obeyed and put the bottle aside. Ryan shushed him when he whined and brought a paper towel to his wet lips, urging him to wipe his face. He shielded Ray's smaller form with his own, trying to give him a moment of privacy despite everyone staring. He wished that they would fuck off but he knew they were just worried.

 

“I'm sorry. I was just so thirsty and it was driving me crazy.”

 

If Ryan wasn't mistaken, it sounded like the boy was trying to placate him as an Alpha. That was new and strange in his friend. He put the back of his fingers to Ray's forehead but he didn't feel too hot. Those same fingers on his pulse revealed it was high, but that could've been from nearly drowning himself. He'd heard from the others that Ray hadn't been feeling his best lately but now he was worried that the younger man was actually ill.

 

“Maybe you should go home?” He was careful to make it a suggestion. He didn't like ordering Ray around, especially not when the boy obeyed. It wasn't his right. _Not yet. Maybe not ever._

 

Ray nodded heavily, swallowing a few times. “For once, I think you're right.”

 

Ryan felt a cool wash of relief. “Do you want me to take you?”

 

The younger man considered it for a long moment but then he shook his head. “I think Geoff should.” _I don't want you to see me like this._

 

It almost hurt to remove his hand from the other's back but he did, giving him the space he needed. “Alright. If that's what you want.”

 

“Geoff?” Ray turned, looking pale in the florescent lighting. “Can you...please?”

 

“There's no need for that, kid, of course I will,” Geoff waved his hand closer, resting his arm on the boy's shoulder once he was close enough. “You don't have to beg for help. Even if you're being a total dumbass.”

 

“Takes one to know one.”

 

“That's weak.”

 

He managed a smile. “Not my best material.”

 

o0o

 

' ** _I'm the pinnacle of physical condition while you dip your stick in prostitutes and call it foul tippin', are you trippin'? You'll be nothing but a skeleton, rollin' with the fellow in yellow-'_**

 

“Ugh!” Geoff groaned, reaching over blindly to the night stand and slapping his hand down on his phone. “How does that little shit keep getting a hold of this? Tiny brown ninja.”

 

Michael snuffled in sleepy amusement next to him. “Just answer it.”

 

Geoff turned over and draped himself along his Omega's back, kissing the creamy curve of his shoulder as he unlocked the phone and answered it. “Hello, Ray.”

 

“Hey Ray,” Michael murmured, already slipping off.

 

“ _G-Geoff?_ ”

 

“Hn,” the boy's tone made his hair stand on end, “Are you alright, kid?”

 

“ _Dude, there's...there's stuff everywhere. I thought I peed the bed for a sec,_ ” Ray laughed nervously over the line. “ _But I'm really hot and thirsty and I can't stop shaking like a fucking lunatic. No homo or anything, but I think I need you._ _I-I don't know what to do and I don't know what the fucks wrong with me_.”

 

“Ah, Ray-ray,” Geoff smiled to himself as he started to sit up, “I think you presented, kid. Good for you.”

 

“ _What? But this is...this is awful_.”

 

“Well, it's called 'The Change' for a reason,” Geoff explained calmly, sliding out of bed and grabbing his boxers and jeans off the floor. “Your body's going to go through a lot in the next week or so and it's going to suck.”

 

“ _Please don't make me do this alone._ ” It sounded like Ray was holding back sobs.

 

“Shh, don't worry, I'm right here for you,” Geoff hushed, pausing only long enough to pull his shirt on. “I'm going to go get you everything you need right now. I just have to swing by the store, okay? I'll be there in less than an hour. Do you hear me, Ray? I'm not abandoning you. I'm not going to forget you. I just need a little time to get you what you need.”

 

A relieved whimper filled his ears. Geoff knew all the things that would be rushing through that primal, Omega mind and he tried to hit every point to keep the boy calm.

 

“Answer me, kid.”

 

“ _Yeah. I...I understand._ ”

 

“You did good calling me. I told you when I hired you that I'd be there for you, didn't I?”

 

“ _Yeah_.”

 

“And nothing's changed. I'll see you in forty-five minutes, alright?” There was another answering whimper. “I want you to go out on your couch and wait for me.”

 

“ _Okay, Geoff_.”

 

“Good boy. I'll be there soon.”

 

Geoff hung up and grabbed his keys off the table. He put his knee on the bed and leaned over to press a kiss to Michael's cheek. “Ray presented. I'm going to go help him.”

 

“The work of a pack-Alpha is never done,” Michael grumbled, throwing off the covers and snatching his underwear off the floor. “It's about fucking time, too. How bad did he sound?”

 

“Pretty fucking bad,” Geoff watched his boyfriend pull on the shorts with a frown. “You don't have to leave. I'll probably spend the night over there but you're more than welcome to stay.”

 

Michael tucked his pillow under his arm and got to his feet, stretching his arms high above his head. “I fucking know that. Shit, I'd like to _see_ you try and kick me out.”

 

“Where are you going?”

 

“Don't you have another Omega to cuddle?” Michael grinned, curling a finger in his Alpha's collar and tugging him into a chaste kiss. He nuzzled their noses together affectionately. “Go help our friend out. He needs you here more than we do.”

 

o0o

 

Gavin was really only half asleep anyways when someone dipped into his bed. He wasn't sure if it was real or not at first. He sucked in a breath to yell for help but he caught the sharp scent of cherry soda and his entire body went lax.

 

“Michael, I was almost asleep,” Gavin complained, but quickly shut p when the other Omega slipped under his blanket. “What's goin' on?”

 

“Ray presented,” Michael explained, pressing up against the Brit's back and looping an arm around his waist to snuggle in. “Geoff's gone over there to help him through it.”

 

“Oh.” He knew he was beet red and he was glad for the cover of darkness.

 

“I'm not sleeping alone after watching six hours of horror movies.” Michael tucked his pillow under his head and found a cozy position. “Comfortable?”

 

Gavin wanted to ask why he was crawling into bed with him but their combined scent made him lightheaded and complacent. He was more than secretly pleased that Michael felt comfortable enough to get in with him rather than them both sleep alone.

 

 _Nesting_ , he hummed to himself, wiggling deeper into the covers. _Bloody biology. It's nice, though. More than nice._

 

They were shirtless and the skin-on-skin contact felt wonderfully warm. He knew it would probably lead to some awkward morning wood but he could worry about that later. If Michael didn't care then neither did he.

 

o0o

 

Geoff arrived at Ray's house with all the immediate supplies he had managed to scrounge up. Even as he knocked on the door he was running through a list of things he needed to pick up tomorrow after work. Gavin had been down for four days when he presented but he'd been two years younger than Ray and ready for it. He'd had a solid Alpha presence in his life to help regulate his hormones and ground him through the process. _Maybe if Ryan would step up his game and just fucking admit he's courting the brat_ -

 

The door opened, derailing that line of thought and slipping him into the never ending pool of protective instincts. Ray looked like he'd been washed out and dunked in water, sweat matting his hair and soaking into the sheet he had over his shoulders to cover up his bare chest. He didn't even have his glasses on. _Poor kid._

 

“Okay, let's do this.”

 

He forced Ray to strip (with a hand pointedly over his eyes) and made him take a cool shower to get the old sweat off. Geoff cracked open the package of scent-neutralizing sheets he'd got at the store and stripped the boy's bed to redress it. The pillow cases were changed as well, all the heavier blankets folded up and set aside near a pile of dirty clothes. He found a clean pair of boxers ( _what I don't do for these brats_ ) and laid them on the covers. He put a pack of slick-pads by the bed. He knew Ray would refuse to use it (Gavin had) but it was either wear them inside his underwear or change his sheets every day for who knows how long as his body tried to deal with the new flood of hormones. He pulled out a bottle of Omega regulators, shook two out into his palm, and then set it on the little table against the wall. It was the best brand he could get this time of night. He would need more for the fever and the pain but that could wait until tomorrow.

 

As he wrestled with the plastic around the spare blanket he'd brought, he grasped just how normal this all felt. His dad was a pack-Alpha too and he could easily remember growing up and watching as he made sure all of his cousins and siblings were well-taken care of during their presentings and their heats. Everything he knew he learned from him. It instilled in him a sense of pride to take care of Ray. He was a good kid and he deserved to have an Alpha help him through this. It wasn't the same sweet buzz he got from taking care of Michael and Gavin but they were different. They were his boys. Ray hadn't been interested in the proxy-Alpha position he'd held with Gavin. He wasn't so much a stand-in as an actual father figure. He'd never scent-marked with Ray in any way and it made him the ideal Alpha to have in his home while this was going on.

 

He cared about the kid but his heart and cock weren't in the mix to make it complicated.

 

“In here,” Geoff called, cracking the seal on a water bottle and sitting down on the boy's couch. Ray padded across the hardwood floor in just the clean pair of boxers the Alpha had left out. He looked bone-tired and his eyes were glistening, whether from frustrated tears or the start of his fever he wasn’t sure. Ray crawled gratefully into the offered blanket and practically purred when it was tucked around him, accepting a long drink of water and both pills before he laid down in his boss's lap. Geoff wasn't surprised. The kid smelled like pure Omega and he was so wrapped up in it he probably didn't know what day it was. Any Alpha presence was welcome, specifically that of a familiar one. He grabbed the couch pillow and tucked it under Ray's heavy head. He hesitated for just a moment before he started to pet through his hair, the strands already softening up.

 

“Is this alright?”

 

“Yeah,” he croaked, leaning into it, “Feels good.”

 

Geoff made sure the boy was as comfortable as he could be before he turned on the TV and pitched the volume low. If Ray was lucky he would sleep through most of it.

 

“I'm an Omega?”

 

“Yeah, kid. Ain't life grand?”

 

Ray pulled down the blanket enough to expose his neck, the color back in his skin. “How do I smell?”

 

Geoff moved the material back with an amused smile. This was one of the reasons he wanted to do this for him. Ray was going to be more than vulnerable during the change and he needed someone who cared enough about him to deflect biological callings to be by his side. He vividly recalled Gavin trying to get him to bond-bite him in the thickest of it. He’d slurred and rutted against his hip like the little wanton thing he was at twenty-one. _Please, Geoff, I don’ want anyone else. Jus’ wanna stay with you._

 

“It's going to change a lot in the next couple days. If everything goes right, it'll get really potent in the middle and then taper off into your new scent. Give it time.”

 

Ray sighed heavily, entire body shaking under the coverlet, “You think Ryan will like it?”

 

Geoff wasn't exactly shocked by the statement but it did reinforce his suspicions. The two had been dancing around each other for the better part of a year. Maybe since they met if he remembered Ray's response to the new guy correctly. And the boy sounded so hesitantly hopeful...like he could disappoint the Alpha because his biology was wrong. He wanted to explain that Ryan wouldn't care about stuff like that, that he never had before, but it wasn't his place. _Maybe I can give them a little nudge. But it'd be an awfully dirty trick._  

 

“Almost called him,” Ray confessed quietly, almost too afraid to admit it.

 

“You should have,” Geoff urged, rubbing along the younger man's covered shoulders. “He would've got here in half the time.”

 

Ray hurried to sit up, dark eyes all wide and earnest and threatening to break his heart. “You think so?”

 

“Jesus, kid, put those away. Fucking lethal weapon.” Geoff made him lay back down before all the movement sparked another wave of cramps. “And yeah, I think he would take the chance in a heartbeat.”

_Time to pass my knowledge on to another Alpha._


	27. Michael and Gavin II (with a splash of Geoff)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael gets a good look at Gavin and then at himself and he doesn't like what he sees.
> 
> “Like, I picked up weights and shit and then I put them down a lot in a sort of pattern thing.”

**Can I just say, to start, that I'm really fucking proud of this particular chapter if for no other reason than I feel like my Michael-muse has completely developed? I re-read this and kind of couldn't believe I wrote it. Not to pat myself on the back too hard, because this could easily be crap, but I'm just totally proud of it**

**Okay, enough horn-tooting, on with the fic**

* * *

 

“Geoff?” Michael called, dropping his bag on the couch without missing a step and continuing into the house. “I know you're here, asshole, your car is outside.”

 

He bellowed his Alpha's name a few more times before he hit the back door that led to the pool. Geoff had an insanely large backyard, bigger than anything his family had ever owned in New Jersey. It was vibrant green in every direction and the pool was one of Geoff's obsessive hobbies and that kept it sparkling clean. They'd made a few creative uses out of it since they'd got together. He'd always thought that pool sex would be gross, like his brain wouldn't be able shut off how many chemicals his body was absorbing and how many other people had been in the water. But he could clearly recall his Alpha snuffing out those fears by bending him over the sun-warmed cement and milking two orgasms out of him until he didn't give a fuck about bacterial infections.

 

Michael pushed open the glass door and stepped back out into the heat of the day, the porch roof blocking the hottest of the rays. He squinted at first but then his eyes adjusted. Geoff was paddling around in an intertube with shades on his face and a cold beer in his hand, looking relaxed for the first time in a few days. Gavin was spread out on the inflatable full-body raft, arms tucked behind his head while he stretched himself out like a sunbathing cat.

 

He felt his stomach bottom out. He'd seen glimpses of Gavin's body since he'd come to America but it was something else to see it all together. The other Omega had a coating of thick hair all across his chest that tapered down to a trail down beneath the elastic of his swim trunks. The line of his hips were cut deep like natural handhelds for Alphas. His tan had only gotten heavier since coming back over the sea and he was a damn pool Apollo compared to his own sickly complexion. Those stupid long limbs were trim and fit from the long walks he and Geoff liked to take and those morning runs Michael sometimes caught him on.

 

“Michael!” Gavin's happy call was followed by a splash as the Brit threw himself back into the pool. He caught across the water with ease and came up on the edge closest to the door – closest to the other Omega. “Come in with us. It's so bloody hot.”

 

He took a step back. “No. I just wanted to see what Geoff was up to.”

 

“This, basically,” Geoff replied, pushing up his sunglasses to look at his Omega. “Come on, Michael, you love the pool. It's a lazy day.”

 

“I think I'll just head home.”

 

The Alpha looked disappointed but he nodded, “Whatever you want. I wish you'd stay for dinner.”

 

Gavin pouted, swiping the wet hair off his forehead, “But _Michael_.”

 

But the younger man was already gone.

 

o0o

 

Michael stood in front of his bathroom mirror for a long time before he took off his shirt. He frowned and turned from side to side, fingers skimming over every curve like they were trying to burn some definition into them. He'd never cared about his body before and Geoff acted as if he liked it so he hadn’t ever seen any reason to think too hard on it. He was always going on about how...how he was...

 

 _Soft_. _Plush. Cuddly._

 

Tears burned his eyes and his nose scrunched up, teeth flashing at his own reflection.

 

“Fuck this.”

 

o0o

 

“This is it,” Michael wheezed, hands pressed into his side. He was in back-ass nowhere on a jogger path with no help besides a water bottle and his iPod. He couldn’t hear the music from how hard he was breathing and the world was starting to go all spinny.

 

“Oh God…gonna fuckin’ croak out here…”

  
He bent over himself, feeling sweat trickle into his mouth and ears.

 

“No one’s…getting’ anything…when I die…”

 

He made it about a dozen more steps before he collapsed into the dirt.

 

“Help me, baby Jesus.”

 

o0o

 

Michael’s head hung over the toilet as his stomach tried to settle down. He glared at the green gloop that had just expelled itself from his body like something out of the _Exorcist_.

 

“Stupid fucking healthy rabbit bullshit.”

 

If he drank one more protein smoothie he was going to keel over.

 

o0o

 

_Pumping iron. Okay, I got this. This is really easy. Up, down, up, down, twelve, thirteen. Easy-fucking-peasy. Just gotta’ do this seven hundred thousand fucking times and I’ll-_

 

“OW! GOD FUCKING DAMN IT! THAT WAS MY FUCKING FOOT, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!”

 

o0o

 

“Fifty-four...fifty-five...oh fuck me, f-fifty-six...this is such....fifty-five? Fuck it, fifty-five.”

 

Michael's arms wobbled hard when his phone started going off. He swiped it off the table and let it thud on the ground in front of him. His thumb left behind a smudge when he switched it to speakerphone. He kept silently counting his pushups as his Alpha's voice came from the speaker. Sweat was starting to puddle at the dip of his back and all through his hair so he was thankful the man couldn't see him. He probably looked like a red hot mess.

 

“ _I wasn't aware you've gained super-speed. I'm hurt you haven't shared this with me, I could've helped you come up with superhero names._ ”

 

“You're so fucking funny, I forgot to laugh,” Michael grunted, dipping down until his nose touched the floor before (barely) managing to straighten his arms. “No offense, man, but I'm kind of busy.”

 

“ _That's what I was calling about,_ ” Geoff countered. “ _You've been running off after work for a couple weeks now. I'm getting worried. Is this a Gavin thing?_ ”

 

The Omega could only growl in an embarrassingly animalistic way.

 

“ _Ah. Okay._ ”

 

“Don't be so fucking smug.”

 

“ _I miss you, baby boy_.” The confession was soft and made him stop to listen properly. “ _You've only been over a couple times this month and I miss having you next to me at night. Whatever's going through your head, we can fix it together._ ”

 

“This isn't a 'fixing' thing,” Michael scrubbed his damp forearm across his face, effectively making his eyes sting instead of wiping away the sweat. “I just have to do this by myself.”

 

Geoff sighed and it tugged at his heartstrings.

 

“But...I'll try and knock it off.”

 

o0o

 

Michael made an effort to get back into the swing of things but it was hard. He wasn’t getting the results he wanted and Gavin kept walking around fucking topless and perfect and it was really grating on his self-esteem and his nerves. But he couldn’t bear to be away from his Alpha and before he knew it he was back to spending three or four nights a week with him.

 

“I’m glad you’re back,” Geoff admitted with a dumb grin as he flopped into bed, the flush on his cheeks more from happiness than alcohol. He was pretty drunk. Game nights always ended up filling his belly with beer and everyone seemed to have enjoyed themselves. Hell, Kara was still in the living room trying to figure out the logistics of Peggle with only Gavin as her guide. He knew the two of them would crash on the couch soon and decided to call it a night. He started shedding his clothes and tossing them about carelessly, his socks proving particularly difficult with him on his back.

 

Michael stood awkwardly in the middle of the bedroom wishing he had a beanie or something to clutch between his hands. This would be the first time he’d be shirtless in front of the other in two months. It wasn’t exactly the unveiling he had hoped for.

 

“Come to bed,” Geoff whined and made grabby hands at him. The Omega sighed as he obeyed and stripped down to just his boxers and undershirt. He ignored the other’s little sound of surprised and got into bed, dragging the covers up only to get them yanked back down.

 

“Hey!”

 

“This is new,” Geoff awed, one large hand traveling down his Omega’s arm to feel the rise and swell of fresh muscle. He bent down and nudged his nose along firm flesh with a little hum. “Is this what you’ve been doing after work?”

 

He shoved Geoff away and rolled stubbornly onto his stomach. “Yeah but it’s not enough. I still eat like a fucking pig and I can’t lose any God damn weight and I’m sick and fucking tired of worrying about it.”

 

“Michael,” Geoff laughed sweetly, half-covering the Omega and pressing little kisses across the exposed skin of his back, “Why are you worrying? I’ve always loved your body, you know that. I feel like I’ve proven it several times over by now. You can’t tell me you did this because you thought I didn’t?” His tone changed. “Did I say something stupid?”

 

“No!” Michael huffed, flipping onto his back and glaring at the Alpha, “Just… _no_ , it wasn’t you.”

 

Geoff’s eyes darkened. “Did someone else say something?”

 

“No, Jesus Christ, it’s…” He chewed the side of his lip and tasted the orange juice from his Screwdriver, reminding him he should have brushed his teeth. “Gavin.”

 

Geoff sat up with a serious frown, hands braced on the mattress. “What the fuck did Gavin say?”

“Would you stop trying to be mad at everyone but me?” Michael demanded, sitting up as well and getting right in the Alpha’s face. “Don’t fucking sit there and tell me you haven’t stared at him more than you’ve stared at me? That he doesn’t look better than me?”

 

The older man looked floored but it didn’t stop the nagging feeling in his gut.

 

“I know he’s hotter than me but does he have to fucking flaunt it in my face?” he snarled, mostly to himself. “That asshole! I’ve been trying to keep up with him but I’ve never given a shit before and it’s hard to start. And he makes it look so easy. He’s always stuffing food in his fat mouth and he still looks like _that_. I know I can’t compete or anything so can we just stop talking about it?”

 

Michael was fighting off the tremble in his lips when his Alpha caught him in a hug that nearly took him off the bed. The man brought him into his lap and cradled him protectively as if to shield him from all those thoughts. Michael went willingly and buried his face in his boyfriend’s neck, hands clutching as his back to hold him close.

 

“How could you ever think you’re anything but beautiful?” Geoff whispered into the delicate skin behind his ear, hot mouth trailing down to that sensitive patch of flesh where his neck and shoulder met. Michael moaned when teeth dug into it and he practically melted into the Alpha. “Don’t compare yourself to anyone. Especially not Gavin. That’s not fair to either of you.”

 

“You’re just saying that to make me feel better.”

 

“What are you? Five?” Geoff teased, tossing the Omega onto the bed and throwing himself on top of him. They play wrestled for a minute or two but eventually he was straddling the younger man and kissing every foul word off his lips. “I love how you look. Now, before, twenty years from now. You could be sixty pounds or three hundred and you’d still be my Michael.”

 

The younger blushed up to his ears, color bleeding all across the bridge of his nose and cheeks.

 

“You’ve got all this pretty, pretty skin.” Geoff ran his fingertips down the front of his Omega’s neck. “I want to count all your freckles with my tongue but I don’t think I could get you to sit still long enough. Your hair, those eyes, your fucking mouth. I could spend days talking about how much I want to devour every part of you. But again, you wouldn’t sit still, I’m sure.”

 

Michael had to swallow a few times before he could get enough of his composure back to smile. “I’d love you even if you were three hundred pounds too.”

 

“But there are limits. You hit fifty nine pounds or three hundred and one? I’m going to get a mail-order bride from Russia.”

 

“Deal.”

 

o0o

 

Michael tapped his foot on the floor in an off rhythm as he waited for his newest _Rage Quit_ game to load. It was taking his sweet time and he knew he’d be able to set up and take lunch before it was ready.

 

“Stupid fucking slow motherfucker.”

 

“Michael’?”

 

He grit his teeth at the butchered version of his name. “What?”

 

Gavin turned in his seat, hands buried in his lap and expression much too eager. “I just wanted to tell you that you look fit today.”

 

“Yeah, well, I’ve been trying to get in shape,” Michael grumbled, refusing to admit it was because of the other’s easy body.

 

Gavin’s face pinched up like it tended to do when he was confused. “Whot’?”

 

“Like, I picked up weights and shit and then I put them down a lot in a sort of pattern thing.”

 

“Dumbass,” Ray scoffed from his chair, buttons clacking in rapid succession as he and Ryan took down a virtual world of Halo NPCs, “ _Fit_ means _fucking-sexy-holy-shit-jump-on-my-dick_ here in America.”

 

Gavin flushed brilliantly at the description.

 

“Oh.” Michael’s face wasn’t too far from the same color.

 

“You looked good before too, you know,” the Brit elaborated, lashes fanning enticingly over his eyes as he tried not to buckle under his sudden bashfulness. “I noticed you trying to trim up and that’s top and all but you’ve always been...rather lovely.”

 

He couldn’t exactly believe that. “Whatever, man.”

  
“I mean it, Michael,” Gavin stressed for the right pronunciation, the little shit knew it always made him pay more attention when he did that.

 

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fit as fuck. Now shut up and leave me alone.”

 

o0o

 

Michael stood in front of his bathroom mirror again, turning this way and that, but this time there wasn’t a dark cloud hanging over him. He ran his hand over his stomach and thought _supple_ instead of _flabby_. His arms were more toned than they had been two months ago and he liked how they complimented his ink. He snapped the elastic on his hip and started to grin when he noticed he had lost the baby fat that had been clinging to them before. _I can see my hip bones. That’s kind of fucking cool._ He felt good, maybe better than before. Like he’d leveled up. And Geoff was thoroughly abusing his new stamina.

 

 _Fit_ , he mused, thinking of Gavin’s earlier words. _Hell fucking yeah._

 

o0o

 

Gavin was in his room fiddling with his Phantom Flex when his phone buzzed. He was pulled out of his video brainstorming and back into the real world. He checked and grinned when it was from Michael.

 

**Mogar: You’re fucking fit too ;)**


	28. Michael and Gavin III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael and Gavin become Micoo' and Gavvy (and not in a creepy age regression way).
> 
> “No probs’, Gav. You’re my boy, right?”

**The necklace Michael is wearing is[this one](https://www.etsy.com/transaction/207502360). I have it and I want [the matching creeper one](https://www.etsy.com/listing/176187869/minecraft-stainless-steel-creeper) SO DESPERATELY BAD. **

**Thank you guys for all the amazing feedback. I'm glad to see you guys enjoyed the first part of Ray presenting.**

**This particular drabble is dedicated to the lovely[derseandprospitcollide](http://derseandprospitcollide.tumblr.com/) on Tumblr who asked for fluffy Mavin. Bumped this one up on my list just for them. **

 

* * *

 

Geoff pushed his Omega on the bed and started stripping off his own shirt, doing a little jig out of his pants before crawling up over him. “I’ve been waiting for this all day.”

 

“If you’d just fuck me in the office…” Michael griped good-naturedly, laughing when the other tried to bite at his cheek. “I know, I know! No office sex. Sets a bad example and stuff.”

 

“Not that I wouldn’t love to…what’s that?”

 

Geoff had pulled off the younger man’s shirt and something icy blue slipped out of it, smacking against his pale chest. It was a necklace shaped like a teardrop but it was pixelated, like…like a _Minecraft_ diamond.

 

Michael was too busy trying to squirm out of his jeans to notice. “Hm?”

 

“This.” Geoff wrapped his fingers in the silver chain and gave it a tug.

 

“Oh, that,” Michael glanced down at it before carefully removing the necklace and setting it aside. “Gavin gave me that. I got him a creeper one too.”

 

“You guys gave each other jewelry?”

 

“Uh, yeah, that’s what I fucking said,” Michael made a face. “Do you wanna’ talk about my attire or do you want to fuck me until you pass out, old man?”

 

Needless to say, Geoff chose the latter.

 

o0o0o0o

 

Geoff came back from his meeting with Burnie and Gus with the start of a headache. He wanted nothing more than to grab his Omega and bury his face in his hair but he ran into Jack first.

 

“Hey, man,” he greeted tiredly, “Fuck you for missing that meeting. All those two did was argue.”

 

“I am the least helpful person to be there when stuff starts happening.”

  
“Yeah, I get that now. Have you seen Michael around?”

 

“About that,” Jack gestured behind him towards the AH main office. “Since Ray’s out of town and Ryan’s buried in editing, he and Gavin have taken up the room to film _Slender_. They’ve got cheats and another camera set up to record their actions and everything. It sounds kind of brutal. I wouldn’t go in there. There’s a sign on the door and everything.”

 

It was true. Geoff stood in front of the office with a confused frown and a vague sense of being left out. There was a crude, Gavin-esque drawing of two figures. One had jagged hair and a British flag on his shirt while the other had an AH logo beanie on his head and glasses. They both had giant headsets on and a computer beside them. In the background was a stick version of Slender Man. Underneath the two figures were some scribbled words.

 

In red pen there was: _This room has been claimed by the best part of Team Lads. Piss off – it’s ours now._

In blue there was: _Suck it, bitches. No peeking._

 

“Huh.”

 

Naturally, Geoff wasn’t going to let his boys order him around and he opened the door. The two Omegas had apparently just found Slender Man because they were screaming at the top of their lungs, jumping out of their chairs before hastily scrambling back for their controllers and knocking the equipment around. Michael was yelling at Gavin for being a fucking idiot but they were both smiling. They looked happy squished together against the same computer, cheeks red like wind-blown children. He memorized the moment for the next time the two were fighting (to shamelessly hold it against them) before he closed the door again to give them some privacy.

 

o0o

 

The pair of Omegas emerged from the office around lunch still grinning and laughing about the successful recording. Rooster Teeth wasn’t exactly a small office but they were the center attention going down the hall, snickering together about how whoever ended up having to edit that was going to lose their hearing.

 

“You’re a fucking cockatoo, Gav, I swear to God. A witch put a spell on you or something.”

 

“Me? You were like a rabid dog!”

 

“It’s called _Rage Quit_ , dumbass, not _Pleasantly Lose_. And you kept fucking it up. You unplugged the mouse and got us killed!”

 

“But I hurt my knee.”

  
“You’re lucky you didn’t sprang your big, stupid beak.”

 

Caleb in particular chuckled as he watched the two Omegas play a game neither of them were aware of. Gavin would dance around Michael, poking and prodding until the other would grab him in a headlock and noogie him until he squealed and then he would let him go. They repeated this all the way through the office and the parking lot, their smiles never once faltering.

 

o0o

 

Michael was riding the high of a good video and decided to pay for lunch despite his friend’s protests.

 

“I’m sure I left a bruise on top of your dumb head so it’s the least I can do.”

 

They got giant plates of Mexican and dug in with the relish only two boys in their twenties could have for possibly-toxic burritos. Between bites they talked about how well the session went and whether the fans would like it. The subject of doing another came up and it gave them little butterflies so they put it on the backburner.

 

“Listen, Geoff and I are going to his tattoo guy on Friday. He’s going to get a new part of his sleeve and I want to get Zelda over here touched up. You should come with.”

 

The intimacy of the situation was not lost on the Brit. “I dunno, Michael. Isn’t going together to get tattooed a, uh, mate thing? Like, special?”

 

“Yeah, so?” Michael sucked the grease from his fingers before taking another bite. “Is it the needle? Because it’s not that bad but if you’re going to throw up all over me you can fuck off.”

 

He fiddled with the edge of his wrapper. “I’m not that scared of needles. ‘Least they don’t make me queasy or anything. But…isn’t that something you and Geoff would want to do alone together?”

 

“We will be,” Michael explained like it was the easiest thing in the world, rolling his eyes when the Brit’s lips tugged down. “We’ll be alone – together – with you. It’ll be fun. We can all go get some food afterward. Geoff shouldn’t eat beforehand or _he’s_ the one who gets sick. So, you in or out?”

 

“Yeah. Yeah, definitely.”

 

“There we go.” He took another savage bite and grumbled, “Jesus, was that so hard?”

 

“Thank you, Michael.”

 

Michael looked up to see his friend smiling at him in a soft, tender way that made his heart seize up. “No probs’, Gav. You’re my boy, right?”

 

Gavin ducked his head, fingers nervously carding through his hair. “Yeah.”

 

o0o

 

Geoff grabbed Michael in a supply closet an hour before they could go home. The Omega snorted in amusement and tilted his head back to let the man nip at his pulse point. “You wanna’ grab dinner? Maybe I can have you for desert.”

 

The next bite was sharper and right below his shirt line, sending heat straight to his dick. “Gav and I are going to this new pizza place after he’s done filming with Jack.”

 

“You and ‘Gav’, huh?” Geoff pestered, turning his Omega around to peck a kiss on his plump lips. “Room for one more?”

 

Michael’s nose did that scrunchy thing and he knew the boy was trying to think of a way to say something without offending him. A pale hand laid on his chest and he got another kiss, softer and longer this time. “Is it okay if it’s just us?”

 

Geoff was beyond thrilled to hear that. _They’re finally getting along. God, it’s all I ever wanted and more. Fucking friends. It’s about time someone else saw how sweet my boy can be_. “Of course it is. Do you want to come over after?”

 

Michael’s grin flashed like lightning and thunder and all those wonderfully loud metaphors. “Hell yeah I do. We’re going to choose our next game.”

 

“Next game?”

 

“Are we playing that game where you repeat everything I say in a tone of disbelief? Because I fucking _hate_ that game.”

 

“No, I’m happy. Can I help choose it?”

 

“You’re the boss, numbnuts,” the bite was taken out with a kiss to the cheek. “We’ll be back at seven…ish. Text us if you need anything.”

 

Geoff let the Omega get around him and escape because his mind was too busy curling around the word ‘us’.

 

o0o

 

Geoff waited until the boys were distracted before he stole their phones. The two Omegas were in their boxers and old t-shirts in front of the TV, Steam thrown up on the screen from the computer that was hooked up to make it a monitor. Two pairs of headsets and two controllers were ready for when they stopped bitching at each other long enough to make a choice.

 

Michael didn’t use a passcode so it was the first one he went into, flipping through the contacts until he spotted Gavin’s number under _Gavvy-Wavvy_.

 

He knew Gavin’s code and did the same with his own Omega’s number, finding it typed in one long word as _MyLovelyLittleBoyMicoo_.

 

“That’s fucking adorable.”

 

Geoff realize how much of a dork he must have looked like smiling real big down at two phones but it was impossible not to with how large and full his heart felt. _My boys._

 

Gavin whined from the living room, catching his attention. Said boys were both leaning over the back of the couch to stare into the kitchen at him, pouting and big eyed like two hungry puppies.

 

“Geoff.”

 

His name was turned into one, long whine.

 

“Yes?”

 

“Can we use your card?” Michael asked, pushing up his glasses. “I think we found something we want.”

 

He sighed but it was put upon. “Yeah, I guess.”

 

They brightened and flipped back around to crawl to the computer. He could hear Gavin whispering _told you he would_ and then some conspiratorial snickering but he didn’t mind. It felt good.

 

It felt like family.

 

* * *

 

**Just gonna remind everyone real quick that this IS out-of-sequence.**


	29. The Bar - Ryan and Ray

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where Ryan is drunk and Ray is a reluctant DD.
> 
> “God, look how cute you are.”

**(as always, thank you 0dalesque)**

 

* * *

 

Ray hated heavily crowded places. He hated bars. He hated alcohol. He hated loud music. But most of all he hated his friends who knew that if they texted him to be a designated driver (despite his lack of license) he would come and get them. This time it was a phone call in which Geoff, Michael, Gavin, and Lindsay all begged him to come get them. It had ended with a text telling him the address, where Geoff’s van was, and that they had four other people to cart home. Which meant he had to take a cab that he would be billing his boss for.

 

It was one of those places that had a huge dance floor and thumping music but the Texas shined through when it came to the bar. It was well enough lit to help tipsy people find the stools and read labels correctly, unlike the rest of the place which was streaked in dark purples and blues. There was some horrible mix of dubstep and country playing through the speakers and he was ready to throw up after only a few minutes of crowd-weaving to try and find his friends.

 

Someone bumped his shoulder and he wasn’t going to look but the stranger said his name. “Ray?”

 

“Oh, hey, Joel,” Ray wasn’t surprised to see the older man a little unsteady on his feet, “Have you seen the others?”

 

“What?” Joel yelled.

 

The young gamer rolled his eyes and grabbed the Alpha’s shoulder to drag him down so he could speak right in his ear. “Geoff called me. I’m the DD, man. Am I taking you home?”

 

He nodded. “Yeah! Thanks, seriously. We’re gonna’ go in a few.”

 

Joel leaned in and caught him off guard by touching his arm. His friend opened his mouth and Ray thought (for one breathless moment) that he was going to get asked to dance. He started to practice how to say no politely. Not that he wouldn’t want to (Joel was hot in an older way and they were good friends even outside work) but he just wasn’t the kind of person to dance. It was weird and it put pressure on him he didn’t like. But all his fears evaporated into annoyance when Joel’s head whipped around, nose apparently following the scent of a tan brunette Omega as she walked by.

 

“Later, kid.”

 

“Yeah, later,” he muttered to himself. He’d only gotten a little farther in the crowd before Michael crashed into him on purpose. The Jersey boy was grinning from ear to ear and he grabbed Ray’s face with both hands to smush it, foreheads clunking together painfully.

 

“You’re a lifesaver, Brownman.”

 

Ray laughed as the Omega’s accent cracked its way through courtesy of the drunken haze.

 

“We’re gonna’ go soon,” Michael promised, forcibly turning his head toward the bar. “You go wait there. ‘M gonna’ find Gavvers.”

 

“Good luck,” he said once his face was released. He trudged his way to the bar and tried to ignore the way a couple people discretely sniffed in his direction, widened their eyes, and then turned away. He just grit his teeth and kept walking. _It doesn’t matter what they think. I’ll present eventually. I know I will._ Someone who walked past him laughed and he immediately hunched his shoulders. _I shouldn’t have come here. I don’t belong here. I must look like a fucking idiot._

 

“Ray!” someone called, then their voice got louder. “Ray, over here!”

 

Ray picked his head up and his draw practically dropped to the floor when he spotted Ryan waving at him. _What’s he doing here? Oh God, he looks drunks, but drunks a damn good look on him._ His feet started toward the Alpha without any help from his brain. _This is a bad idea. What if he’s an asshole? Fuck, I can’t handle that. Please don’t let the only Alpha I’m stupid enough to have a crush on be a douchebag when he’s drunk._

 

“Are you here to give us a ride home? That’s so nice of you. Come here.”

 

Ray was too busy being surprised by the Alpha actually gushing words like Gavin to do anything about the hand that grabbed his arm and pulled him closer to the bar. It didn’t hurt and the force wasn’t enough to jerk his arm but he was powerless to stop it for more reasons than strength. Ryan tugged him belly-up to the bar and closed in behind him, caging him in with his broad chest and the warm bars of his arms. He was trapped in with the Alpha’s savory scent and the hand that laid on his waist. Very male fingers fanned along his ribs like they belonged there, burning deep grooves that he knew he would feel in his dreams.

 

Ryan's knuckles rapped off the counter and managed to catch the bartender's attention. “A plain Coke and another Penicillin over here.”

 

Ordering for him...that was something mates did.

 

“You ordering liquor or a round of meds?”

 

“Just one more for the road.”

 

From the cliché mirror behind the liquor shelves he could see how Ryan looked. There were high flags of color on the older man's cheeks and his hair was artfully messy, his shirt untucked with three buttons loose to show off a tan slice of chest. He was even wearing jeans. He tilted his head down and peered at the large, denim-clad thigh and how it was touching his own. It was as close as they'd ever been besides the time he sat on the man's lap. This was a whole different kind of intimacy. It should have made him uncomfortable, the whole position should have been awkward or distressing. But Ryan wasn't trapping him in, he was shielding him. He carved them out a space in the world between the solid oak counter and the firm line of his body. The people on either side of them moved away without a word. _He must be pumping out some hella' strong hormones._

 

“I know it's a pain in the ass for you to come in these kinds of places, but I'm glad you're here now,” Ryan pressed up tight behind him as his arm looped around the younger man's stomach like an anchor. “I was getting lonely.”

 

Ray tried to swallow but his throat was dry from the flux of nerves that usually came with doing public stuff like this. “I'm sure there's a lot of Omegas here who want to keep them company.”

 

“They're all boring.” The drinks were put in front of them and he gave the man a nod. “Thanks. God, this is good stuff.”

 

“What's in it?” Ray asked, trying to talk his way out of either getting a hard on or launching himself into a full-blown panic attack.

 

“Ginger and lemon and honey and _so much rum_ ,” the Alpha made a happy groan as he took a long swallow. “I'd ask you try and be really sexy and hold it up to your lips while you drink but that's offensive in more than one way.”

 

Ray brought his hand up to his mouth, choking down the unmanly squeak that was trying to work its way up his throat. The visual made his cock throb. The Alpha would cradle the back of his head and ease the alcohol down his throat, whispering in his ear about how good he was being for him. In his little fantasy the drink tasted like pure honey and they were alone. Preferably somewhere with a couch or a bed.

 

“I've seen at least six drunk assholes stare at you since you walked in here,” Ryan hooked a chin over his shoulder and relaxed against him like they did this all the time. “Don't worry. I'll protect your honor. I'll keep you here with me until the others have decided they’re done making asses of themselves.”

 

A nose touched his hair and he nearly jumped out of his skin and knocked his Coke over.

 

“Y-You don't have to worry about me,” he managed to get out with only a little shudder. “No one's really interested in an unpresented twenty three year old dude.”

 

“I fucking hate it when you do that,” Ryan growled. He rarely heard the Alpha curse and he wanted so badly to reach down and adjust his thickening cock. _Thank God for khakis._

 

“Do what?”

 

“Put yourself down.” The man's nose was back and he stared wide-eyed in the mirror as the Alpha blatantly scented him in public. His grip tightened and Ray relaxed into the embrace, tuning out the crowd and the music as best he could. “You're so...so _good_. You're so sweet but you're so mean to yourself and it makes me want to bend you over your desk and eat you out until you only remember my name and how amazing you are.”

 

“Ryan!” Ray was going to combust. He'd never imagined to hear that kind of filth spill out of the Alpha's mouth but here it was – loud and clear and so public. _You shouldn't be wasting all this hotness on me. I'm not an Omega._

 

“God, look how cute you are,” Ryan's laugh was throaty and it sent white-hot sparks into his gut. He gasped when the Alpha lightly pinched his cheek. “You're smart as hell and you've made me laugh harder than I have in years. And you've got those eyes...it's _so_ wrong because you're a hundred years younger than me but I can't stop looking at you and – I'm probably scaring you, right?”

 

Ryan chuckled in his ear again but he barely heard it over the hot rush of blood and pure fucking _need_ in his veins. His brain kicked out of its stupor and into hyper drive. This couldn't be happening. Ryan had to be drunk off his ass. Alcohol did crazy things to people and this was just one of the reasons he wanted to stay away from it. They were in a building crammed to the rafters with Omegas of both genders and lustful Alphas. This was fucking biology. This was hormones and proximity and inhibitors and sexual frustration. Maybe it had been a while since Ryan had gotten laid? He'd never known the man to lose his cool or be so open – it had to be that liquor.

 

But _God_ how he wanted it.

 

“I-I think I need to cut you off and get you home.” His words tripped over one another in his haste to get them out, grabbing his Coke and taking a cool mouthful to try and stamp down how turned on he was. Shit, the Alpha could have been doing this on purpose for all he knew. _But I know Ryan better than the other guys do. He's probably just drunker than he looks. He's my friend. He wouldn't do this to make fun of me._

 

Ryan finished his drink over the boy's shoulder and slapped it down with a satisfied sigh. “There. Done. Last one, I promise. Whew, that's strong.”

  
A bit of that old Georgia accent bled into his voice. _File that away for Spank Bank #3 for the night._

 

“Hey, look.”

 

Ray didn't have much of a choice because Ryan nudged and turned him until he could see down the bar. Their friends were there. Gavin was on a barstool in front of some guy he'd never seen and Michael was right behind him, glaring daggers and draped all over the Brit. He watched the Jersey boy's hand slide lower and ( _well fuck me_ ) between the other Omega's thighs. It screamed possessive and the guy just put his hands up and walked away. Ray watched with a gaping mouth as Michael said something before pressing a kiss beneath Gavin's jaw.

 

The look on his friend's face said that he was gone.

 

_Holy fuck, he's in love._

 

“Holy fuck, he's in love.”

 

“All three of them are,” Ryan snickered like it was some great big joke. “I don't know how they're going to work it out but Michael is the most determined Omega I've ever met. If he can't get what he wants, no one can. He's such a cocky little shit.”

 

Ray frowned thoughtfully. “But he's an Omega...”

 

“And, what? I should immediately want to try and steal him in some bullshit-Alpha-pissing-contest thing? I should show Geoff up and prove my prowess?” Ryan snorted before he took a drink of the Coke he'd ordered for the other. “Michael's nice and fiery and everything, but I like to choose my bed partners with a little more finesse than some caveman 'Ooo, Omega, must breed' thought process. Besides, he’s just a friend.”

 

Lindsay appeared behind them with a squeal of joy and wrapped herself around them both, sloppy lipstick-kisses staining their cheeks and foreheads as she explained just how happy she was to be going home to puke in her own toilet. “There's no place like home, guys, am I right?”

 

o0o

 

Ray managed to round up Joel and Monty and shove them in Geoff’s car along with his fellow Achievement Hunters and drove them all back to the Ramsay compound (which looked like a car lot). They all kind of passed out on every surface they could find and Ray decided to just take the Alpha’s car and return it tomorrow. He knew it was illegal and shit but there was no way he was going to let his friends drive drunk or shell out a shit-ton of money for a cab. They needed someone to put a glass of water by their heads along with some aspirin to make the morning-after easier, maybe throw a blanket on them. And he did all that but he wasn’t going to spend the night in the same house as Ryan with a raging hard-on.

 

It was all too embarrassing and it was just easier to go home and jerk off like a loser alone.

 

But it wasn’t going to end there.

 

There was a knock on the office door. Gavin and Ray looked up from their respective screens and spotted their Alpha friend.

 

“Hey,” Ryan greeted, bloodshot eyes hidden behind the frames of his glasses, “Gavin, can I talk to Ray alone?”

 

“This is getting to be a bloody pattern with you two,” Gavin complained lightly, jumping to his feet and giving himself a good stretch. “I’ll make Michael take me to lunch. You two enjoy yourselves.”

 

Ryan shut the door to give them some privacy and grabbed the Brit’s abandoned chair, dragging it over to sit down in front of his friend. Ray put his controller aside and readied himself for the worst.

 

“I’m sorry for getting so drunk last night,” Ryan started, “To be honest, I didn’t expect to see you. I’m a lot better at keeping my head when I know there are people there who don’t drink. It was just painfully not-fun and I don’t go out a lot. I’m still not sure how Geoff convinced me to go. I couldn’t let it go a day without you knowing that the things I said and did were awful. I would have never acted that way if I had been sober.”

 

Ray nodded and tried to smile even though his chest had compressed so tight it was splintering. _Of course he didn’t mean it, you fucking idiot. He’s choice Alpha material and you’ll probably end up as a plain, boring Beta. Stupid._

 

“Everyone does stupid shit when they’re drunk,” Ray assured him, eyebrows waggling suggestively. “Just weren’t striking well with the Omegas, huh? You’ll get ‘em next time, tiger.”

 

Ryan’s blonde brows knit up. “I’m sorry?”

 

 _God, don’t make me explain it._ “Those words…they weren’t meant for me, I get it. It’s nice though, I never get hit on.”

 

Ryan bristled. “I’m not apologizing for hitting on the wrong person. I’m apologizing because it wasn’t right for me to say those things when you were clearly uncomfortable and I was stupid drunk. I put you in a bad situation and…” He purposefully lowered his voice. “I understand that your anxiety was probably sky-rocketing. A coworker, a friend, hitting on you at a crowded bar with other office people there. And the things I said were crude. You deserve better than that and _that’s_ why I’m apologizing.”

 

“I don’t understand.” And he meant it. Ryan was apologizing for… _how_ he said it?

 

And just like that, Ryan closed up like he did with everyone else. His expression didn’t harden and he didn’t look angry, but that easy flow they’d developed over the past few months sealed off. It made him sick to his stomach he knew he’d do anything to turn time back two days. “Would you rather forget about the whole thing?”

 

“No,” he admitted sincerely.

 

“I’m sorry,” Ryan repeated, scrubbing a hand over his scruffy face. “I’m an idiot when I drink. I…this is weird, I didn’t want to make this weird.”

 

“You’re a weird dude, my friend,” Ray snarked.

 

Ryan’s face cracked into a smile, breaking down the fresh wall he’d built around himself. “We’re okay?”

 

“We’re always okay, man. New COD map and _The IT Crowd_ marathon tonight?” _Whoa, where’d that confidence come from?_

 

The Alpha breathed a sigh of what could’ve been relief. “I’ll bring pizza.”

 

“If I see one fucking vegetable on it, it’s going on the roof.”


	30. Michael and Gavin IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin gets a migraine and Michael doesn't deal with it very well.

****These are posted out of sequence. Don't like that? That's perfectly fine. Check out the**[linear link post](http://emono-omae.tumblr.com/post/99261946051/timeline-for-id-like-it-better-if-i-could-win-at-it) here on my blog to see everything in order.**  
  
This is the turning point where Michael finally decides that Gavin isn't awful and that he's been treating him unfairly.   
  
Inspired by [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VyXRrNWQ-8&index=92&list=PL7C128DC8047D1C82). Poor Gavin.

* * *

 

Michael heard another groan in his headset and grit his teeth. “Gavin, would you shut the fuck up?! We’re trying to do something.”

 

There was a muttered apology but it was too quiet for him to pick up past the sounds of the racing game he and Ray were trying to record a round of _Achievement HORSE_ with. The entire AH office was running behind and the pressure had been on them from the moment they got to work Monday morning. Ray had stopped going home, they hadn’t seen Ryan in three days, and Gavin had been saddled with editing with everything from _Game Fails_ to _Let’s Plays_ he had nothing to do with. Geoff had divided the work as evenly as possible but the Brit had ended up with the most through several bad streaks of luck. He’d been moping around for a while but today he’d been particularly dismal.

 

“Fucking tea-sucking asshole,” Michael grumbled, voice escalating to an outraged cry when his car flipped. “God damn it! Do you see you what you did, Gavin?”

 

There was no response and it pissed him off even further. He threw off his headphones and tossed his controller with a sickening smack, whipping around in his chair to face to other Omega. “Is your brain falling out of your ears or are you just fucking deaf now too?!”

 

Michael was ready to start screaming his name and maybe make an insult about his mother when he got a proper look at him. Gavin had a hand over his face and was kind of swaying where he sat, the video he had pulled up paused and his own headphones on the table. He’d never seen someone’s normally tan skin go white before but there he was, stricken pale like how it went in the movies. It was disturbing and it made his stomach twist into knots. He got out of his chair and dropped to his knees beside the other Omega, frowning and letting his hands flutter uselessly around him like he could physically remove whatever was hurting him.

 

“What the hell, Gavin? Are you alright? You look like you’re going to pass out.”

 

“My head…‘sbeen getting worse all day,” the Brit muttered lowly, accent all thick like when he was drunk. “I dunno’ what’s wrong.”

 

Michael carefully touched the man’s forehead but Gavin flinched so hard he jerked back. “I was just checking for a fever!”

 

“ ‘M sorry,” Gavin whined, clearly distressed that he had upset the other Omega.

 

Michael leaned up and sniffed at his neck and hair, frown deepening. “You smell wrong.”

 

“Feel wrong,” he confided, each breath he took becoming just a little more ragged than the last. “Please…Michael…can you get Geoff? Please, I’m just…scared.”

 

The last word was whispered pitifully and it hit every sympathy button Michael didn’t know he had. “Ray, go get Geoff.”

 

The younger gamer hurried to obey, concern written all over his face. Gavin started to fall forward in his chair but the other Omega caught him with a hand on the chest and eased him back. He was stunned by the instincts to _protect_ and _shelter_ that bubbled up within him. He’d always acted like he didn’t give a shit about Gavin before but this was different. Before the Brit had just been an annoying, chirping thing that floated around begging for his attention. And for a while he was pure competition. Now Gavin was an upset Omega who needed help and Michael wanted to be the one to give it to him.

 

“Vav?” Geoff came in and moved to the other side of his ward, breathing in his scent and touching him gingerly along the pulse points to get a good read on his temperature. He went all wise, experienced Alpha on them and started asking about what he felt. After a few stuttered words he figured it out and gave a long-suffering sigh. “Okay, kid, let’s go. We need to get you home.”

 

“What? Why? What’s wrong with him?” Michael asked, voice picking up pitch as his concern mounted.

 

“Gavin doesn’t deal with migraines well. The last time this happened he passed out on the floor,” Geoff replied, putting the boy’s arm around his shoulders to take most of his weight. Gavin’s head lulled heavily. “Can you grab his stuff?”

 

Michael gathered up the few things Gavin had brought with him from the house and dumped them in his creeper-green backpack. He saved the project the Omega had been working on and double checked the status of the other windows before booting down the whole thing. Feeling mentally itchy, he put everything on his desk back into place and tidied it up. The surface had gotten pretty cluttered throughout the stressful week and he wanted Gavin to come back to a clean work space.

 

He was about to leave but hesitated in the doorway, bouncing on the balls of his feet before he hissed _fuck it_ and grabbed his bag too.

 

o0o

 

Michael had to spend a minute or two in front of the car trying to convince his Alpha to let him in the back seat. _It's a thirty minute drive through the city at lunch time, Geoff, you're going to give him fucking whiplash back there._ He'd been reluctant but had eventually barked at him to get back there and shut up.

 

Michael had folded up his jacket and put it under the other Omega's head in hopes of minimizing any movement. If it was a migraine then he needed to be as still as possible. He remembered his mom getting them once in a while but it was a long time ago. Gavin was only getting worse as the minutes ticked on, lashes fluttering wildly and little moans of pain passing his lips. The only color he'd gained back were two little pinpricks of red on his cheeks but he wasn't sure that was a good sign.

 

“Michael.”

 

“Shut up, Gavin,” Michael shushed, running his fingers through the other Omega's hair in hopes of keeping him as relaxed as possible.

 

The Brit's face scrunched up as he tried to pry his eyes open long enough to look at the other. “H-Hurts.”

 

Michael's throat tickled with the impulse to make reassuring animal noises like the kind he made with Geoff when they were in bed late at night scenting, rubbing skin-to-skin trying to bury themselves in one another. “I know. I'm sorry.”

 

Gavin sucked air through his teeth when the car turned and the sunlight hit his eyes. The whine that followed it hit Michael straight in the heart. He laid his hand on the other Omega's face with more tenderness than he'd ever showed him before, blocking out the sun and giving him some peace. “Is that better?”

 

The only answer was a faint hum.

 

“How is he?” Geoff asked over his shoulder.

 

“Not good, man.”

 

o0o

 

“There you go.”

 

Geoff pulled the covers up to the Brit's chin, petting back the tuft of hair on his forehead with a little smile. Gavin sighed beneath his touch.

 

“Are you sure you don't want me to stay?”

 

“Got a lot to do.” His voice was unsteady and he couldn't seem to get enough breath to form a full sentence. “Do mine...four edits...audio didn't sync...stupid graphics cards...upgrade.”

 

“Okay.” He leaned down and brushed a kiss above his eyebrow. “I'll take Michael back to the office with me. Try to get some sleep?”

 

“Mm.”

 

o0o

 

Michael paced the length of the living room waiting for Geoff to come back into the house. He'd chewed three nails down to blood before the Alpha came back in, looking more tired than when he'd come in. “So what's up?”

 

“It looks like the same exact thing as last time,” Geoff scratched fingers through his own hair. “He won't see a doctor. He's going to be nauseous and probably down for the count for a day or two.”

 

“It's just a fucking migraine?”

 

“There are extreme cases,” Geoff defended hotly. “You weren't there last time, Michael. He passed out mid-step and didn't wake up for two hours. He's lucky he realized what was happening before it got worse. And there's nothing we can do but make him comfortable and wait it out.”

 

Geoff must have seen something on his face because he tisked and tied to pull him into a hug. “He's not going to die or anything. I promise.”

 

“I know that!” Michael shoved him away with a pout. “There has to be something we can do.”

 

“This is just something he needs to ride out.”

 

Michael practically flared at being told what to do but he just grit his teeth and demanded his Alpha drive them back to the office. Geoff complied and the car trip was silent and uncomfortable with frustration on both sides. The moment they hit the parking lot, Michael made a run for his car with his bag bouncing painfully against his hip.

 

“Michael!” Geoff flinched when the Omega peeled out of the spot and hit the road. “God damn it.”

 

But what the fuck was he supposed to do? Michael was a hurricane, a natural force, and there was nothing he could do. He had felt his Omega's boundless energy swelling on the ride over and he suspected something like this would happen. But for Gavin? That was new and not exactly unwelcome. Michael had never shown anything more than contempt for the British Omega and now he was escaping work for him.

 

“Shit. Better tell Burnie.”

 

He'd spank Michael's ass cherry red for putting him through this but as long as he didn't aggravate Gavin's condition he didn't see any reason to drag him out of there. _I'll text him once in a while to be sure._

 

o0o

 

Michael angrily Google searched “migraine cures” in the car outside the grocery store. He had a scowl on his face all the way inside and was muttering filthy curses as he started pulling stuff off the shelves. Extra Strength painkillers with caffeine in them, mint tea, duct tape, fresh(ish) basil, a mini cooler, dark sheets, and the softest washcloths he could find. He left one aisle in complete disarray and he snapped at the cashier to _hurry it the fuck up, buddy_ because he had no patience for the self-checkout. His driving back to the house wasn't exactly up to par but he didn't give a fuck – he had shit to do.

 

o0o

 

His righteous rage had simmered into useful energy by the time he got back to Geoff's house. He performed some magic juggling to unlock the door and get inside without dropping anything. He could feel the buzz that came with satisfying his obsessive nature as he made a mental checklist of things to do and organized all his new treasure into an orderly line-up on the kitchen counter.

 

Michael set the water on the burner while he searched for a step ladder in the garage. He made sure to keep his steps light and his sound at a minimum. The duct tape, sheets, and mini-ladder were placed outside Gavin's bedroom door for when he came through.

 

_Fucking tell me there's nothing to do. There's always something to do. If Geoff's too fucking busy to be an Alpha, then-_

 

Michael took a big breath through his nose as he put two tea bags and a healthy sprig of basil in Geoff's _May the Stache Be With You_ mug. The near-boiling water was poured in along with three healthy spoonful’s of sugar. “Then I'll just be one.”

 

The thought felt good and it gave him a little confidence boost. He would get Gavin through this.  The stupid bird had been fluttering around his head all this time trying to get him to like him and maybe he'd been a bit prickly ( _for good fucking reason_ ) but he wasn't an emotionless asshole. He wasn't going to let another Omega suffer just because some stupid-ass Alphas had fucked up their scheduling to the point where his crew needed to be driven into the ground just to make Matt and the fans happy.

 

And if anyone gave him shit about missing work and acting outside his class he'd just punch them in the fucking tit.

 

He meticulously fished out the bags and basil with a spoon before giving it a good stir. It still smelled a little too herb-y so he gave it another dose of sweetness. There was no reason for it to taste like ass. It was a mercy.

 

Michael tucked his DS case in his shorts and took the mug. He walked to the room and carefully picked up the stool beneath the flat of the top with the pack and tape balanced perfectly on one another. _Fucking mad skill over here._ The light was out but his shitty blinds weren't enough to keep the sun out. He placed the steaming mug of tea beside the bed before heading over to the first one. He ripped the plastic open with his teeth, flipped open the black sheets, folded them over themselves, and put them over the rims. He bit nice, even pieces with the help of his incisors and managed to hang the sheets more easily than he'd expected. So quietly, one by one, he blacked out the windows. The room got pretty damn dark but sunlight managed to creep in from the hall. Growling in annoyance, Michael trudged out of the room to cover them up as well.  He wanted to keep the door open so he could go in and out for bathroom breaks and food without creaking hinges disturbing the Brit.

 

_Oh. Bathroom breaks. Fuck, I didn't even think of that. Good thing I bought the jumbo pack._

 

Michael used the last of the sheets to black out a path to the bathroom for when Gavin had to go. He dumped the materials in the living room and went back to the kitchen for the rest of his haul. Ice was dumped into the little cooler and the wash clothes were folded long-ways and laid inside along with two bottles of water, some soda, and a couple chip bags (mostly for him because he doubted Gavin would want to eat anytime soon). _Perfect. Geoff would be fucking proud._ When he got back to the room it was a rewarding level of dark and he tip-toed over to the empty side of the bed. He made an effort to ease onto the mattress so as not to jostle the other Omega and put his goods close.

 

His name was whispered with some strain and in the faint light he could see Gavin's lashes twitching. “Yeah, I'm here.”

 

“Wotcher?”

 

“Oh no, the patient's reverted back to British. We'll have to operate sooner than I thought,” Michael joked quietly, laying a thankfully-already cool cloth across the Omega's forehead. “After it cools down I've got some tea that'll help and you're going to fucking drink it or it's going up your ass, you hear me?”

 

“ 'S dark.”

 

“No, really?” he deadpanned. “You don't need light right now. I'll give you a minute or two but then I want you to take a couple drinks, okay? It's not going to taste good so don't expect much. Won't really matter if it’s hot or cold.”

 

Michael respectfully waited as long as possible before he roused the Omega again. He took the cloth and put it back in the cooler before he helped him sit up, helping him lift the mug to his mouth.

 

“Shit, hold on.”

 

He blew gently on it a few times before it put it back, coaxing him to take as many mouthfuls as possible. “I know it's bad. It should help, though.”

 

Once Gavin had enough he laid him back and put the mug back on the table, ordering him to lay back down. Another, colder, cloth was put on his forehead. Michael fussed over him for another minute or two, straightening the blanket and stuff, but then he left well-enough alone and rested against the headboard. He pulled out his DS and loaded it up, turning the brightness down and angling it away from the Brit's face.

 

He refused to acknowledge the confused expression on Gavin's face.

 

“You should go the fuck to sleep.” He kicked on _Ocarina of Time 3D_ for what would be his second play through. “When you wake up I'm going to force feed you again so you might as well pretend for a little while.”

 

o0o

 

Geoff got home late that night. He marveled at the black sheets and the new, odd assortment of things around his house. He followed the trail to the door that used to lead to a useless garage and now housed his proxy-Omega. It was open and everything was cast in shadow, even more now that the sun had gone down. There was a faint whine inside and the sound instantly pushed a shot of adrenaline through his veins. He almost ran but then he heard someone talking lowly. _Michael?_

 

“Hey, stop that. I'm right here.”

 

The room was pitch except for the light from Michael's DS. He didn't know how long they'd been like that but his Omega had a hand on Gavin's shoulder, a grounding touch. His eyes never left the screen and it told of how many times he'd done the same gesture.

 

“Hey, boys,” Geoff spoke softly.

 

“Hey,” Michael grinned at him. “Get shit on at work?”

 

“Burnie wants to talk to you the moment you step back in the office.” The glint of teeth in the room showed that he wasn't exactly pleased with it.

 

“He can suck my metaphorical dick,” Michael sneered, then gestured at the cooler. “Can you take this and refill it with ice? And grab the Exedrin? I think he's finally asleep.”

 

“ 'M not.”

 

Geoff padded over and knelt down beside the bed instead of sitting, pushing his fingers through the boy's hair and smiling when he didn't seem to flinch. The cold cloth on his head brushed his palm. “Hey there, buddy. How 'ya feeling?”  
  
“Shite,” Gavin cursed, eyes closed while his lips twitched in an effort to smile. “Michael takin' care of me. I...I think he likes me now. Isn' tha' great?”

 

“The best.” Geoff stood and beamed at his Omega, who only looked annoyed. “What?”

 

“Stay with him a second. I need to go to the bathroom.”

 

“You could've gone before, he'd be okay on his own,” Geoff stated.

 

Michael's glare nearly took his head off. “If you're okay with leaving him alone, that's your business. You've seen him do this before. But I don't fucking like it and it sits wrong with me so if you could just _stand there_ for five minutes while I take a whizz, that would be great.”

 

Geoff wanted to tell him that Gavin could easily bounce back any minute, that he went through this shit from time to time, that just getting some sleep would help more than anything else – he wanted to say a dozen things but he couldn't because he was floored. For months Michael had bitched and whined and moaned that Gavin was always annoying him, that he was too loud and stupid and he sounded like an idiot whenever he opened his mouth. He’d spent months of trying to build a bridge between the two Omegas in his life. They'd had their first real fight as a couple the moment Kara mentioned reintroducing _Immersion_ with Gavin and Michael as the stars. His boyfriend had melted down right there in the office and they both screamed themselves hoarse and didn't have sex for three days because of it.

 

_One little migraine and suddenly Gavin is our fucking pet._

 

o0o

 

Michael demanded to stay in his makeshift cave that night and Geoff just tossed up his arms in defeat and let him _do whatever the hell you want I'm going to bed._ He'd closed his DS around one AM and let himself lay down in Gavin's bed. It was weird to be in bed with someone he wasn't fucking but he didn't mind. Though the other Omega still smelled off his natural, dumb flowery smell was everywhere and it wasn't as unpleasant as he liked to mention in the office.

 

Now, tired and content with the job he'd done, he could admit the smell was more like a natural spring field than a bundle of organic manure. That jab had been kind of hard. It might have stemmed from his insecurity about his own artificial-smelling scent and he could still remember Gavin’s flinch after he’d shot it at him. Cherry Coke wasn't everyone's cup of tea and it always made him anxious when he saw noses turn toward him.

 

Michael was shaken out of his own head when a light whining sound met his ears. He grabbed another cloth out of the cooler before he rolled over to face the other Omega. Gavin had rumpled his covers and his face was tense, the hand on his stomach twitching hard as little fizzles of pain burned through him. The cloth on his head was switched out for the fresh one and the sensation softened the scowl on his face.

 

“Michael?”

 

_He says my name like a fucking idiot._

 

Michael wiggled closer and made a comforting, chittering noise in the back of his throat. He brushed his nose against the other Omega's shirt-clad shoulder and ran his fingers over his forearm. Gavin slowly calmed down, chest visibly rising and falling as he took deep breaths to ease the pain in his head and catch all the scent he could.

 

“You're okay,” Michael whispered into his shoulder.

 

o0o

 

“Michael!”

 

Michael sluggishly blinked the sleep out of his eyes. There was a moment of panic when he realized the room was bright and all the sheets were gone but it faded when he zeroed in on the grinning Omega hovering over him. Another look and he realized he was being straddled.

 

“Good morning!” Gavin called cheerily, looking brighter and fluffier than he had in days. “You're such a cute sleeper, Michael. We should have sleepovers more often. Did you have good dreams? Did you sleep well?”

 

“How could I when I was fucking worrying about you all night, you asshole!” Michael smacked the man in the head just because he could. But Gavin's grin didn't falter and he took the blow easily, even butting into it like he'd been waiting all morning for it. “Are you actually okay?”

 

“Never better,” he swore.

 

“It just goes away? Just like that?”

 

“About an hour ago. There's a bit of a throb but I can see fine now. Let me take you to breakfast?” Gavin offered, squirming happily on top of him, “I want waffles in my belly before I have to go back to work.”

 

“Ugh, work,” Michael groaned, tossing an arm over his eyes.

 

Gavin's made a little noise of distress, so different from the sounds he'd made when in actual pain. “Are you going to get in trouble, Michael?”

 

“Nah.” He batted at the Brit's ear to make him squawk. “Fuck 'em.”

 

Gavin let Michael sit up but he stayed in his lap, beaming at him so brightly it almost hurt.

 

“What?!”

 

“I knew you didn't hate me.”

 

Michael snuffed and sat back on his hands, “Jesus, suck my dick already, why don't you?”

 

Gavin turned bright red from his cheeks all the way down to the hollow of his throat. “Michael!”

 

“Get off me already, idiot!”

 

o0o

 

Burnie's office was the same as it always was. Messy, full of geek junk – it even smelled the same Febreeze the Alpha always bought. Burnie was behind his desk glaring at him, a pen flipping over his fingers.

 

“You can't just leave work in the middle of the day, Michael. Any other job and you'd be fired.”

 

“We're not every other job,” Michael defended, arms crossed over his chest and posturing like an Alpha out of instinct to protect himself. “I don't know if you saw Gavin go through this migraine crap last time he was here but it's pretty brutal. You guys needed Geoff here more than you needed me and I made a fucking choice.”

 

“So, what, you two are friends now?”

 

Michael threw up his chin. “So what?”

 

Burnie raised an eyebrow. “And you were the person to do it?”

 

“Yeah, well, it's not like there are any other _real_ Alphas I could recommend for him,” he countered with a catty bite in his voice.

 

Burnie's smirk was unsettling. “Geoff seems to be doing a great job so far.”

 

“Yeah, he has, hasn’t he?” Michael slapped on a wicked smile that made the Alpha's expression falter.

 

They had a stare off but it only lasted a few seconds before Burnie tossed aside the pen and sat back in his chair. The leather creaked under his weight.

 

“Ah, fuck it, it's just video games.” He sounded so much like the old Burnie that Michael could really only stare. “Just give us some warning next time?”

 

“Uh, yeah, okay.”

 

“Have you given anymore thought to Kara's suggestion?” Burnie pressed. “ _Immersion_ was a lot of fun.”

 

“Nah, man, fuck that. It's stupid.”

 

Michael physically walked out of the office, stopped two feet from the door, turned around, and walked back in. “Okay, we'll do it.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Yeah. Set up a meeting and we'll talk it all over.”


	31. Michael and Gavin V (Second Half of "The Bar")

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael and Gavin figure out they might be more than friends.

Geoff suspected it the moment Michael turned into a mother hen when Gavin fell under the harsh blow of one of his super-migraines.

 

Ray knew something was up once the term “Team Nice Dynamite” was uttered in a _Let's Play_.

 

Jack figured it out when Gavin bounced into the car with Geoff and Michael to go to the tattoo shop. He'd never seen three men smile so hard.

 

And Ryan may have known from the beginning that either they'd all mesh or kill each other.

 

But it took Michael and Gavin themselves a long time before they realized that their friendship was unorthodox. They went from rivals to friends to best friends too fast for it to be natural. Michael punched him in the airport the day he got there and five months later they were sleeping together in puppy piles in front of the TV with scattered beer bottles and pizza boxes. They were attached at the hip in almost every _Let's Play_ until Geoff had to order them to play with the other kids or they'd get grounded. They just _clicked._ They should have seen it coming but they were too wrapped up in having someone to share everything with to give a shit.

 

o0o0o0o

 

Gavin figured out he was in some serious shit the night they all trucked out to have some fun and had to have Ray drive them home.

 

o0o

 

“Another bottle, love!” Gavin called, leaning over the counter and flashing a grin and his drink at the bartender. The man did not look amused but he popped the cap off another and slid it to him. “Brilliant. Thanks.”

 

He ignored the man's sour look and took a long, cold pull. His fingers slipped through the condensation on the bottle's neck and it was the most refreshing thing he could remember having. He'd been playing pool and shooting darts with some of the editors and running between them and Geoff had left him thirsty. He knew the drunker he got the more he acted like Geoff was his Alpha (and that wasn't fair to Michael who was off dancing with Lindsay) but the older man always seemed to know when he'd had enough and would stop him before he got sloppy.

 

Gavin would drink everything up all night if he was let loose.

 

He went to dig out some bills for his tab but someone saddled up next to him and threw down a twenty. “I've gotcha', darlin'.”

Gavin curled up his nose at the thick drawl and the stench of drunk Alpha and moved back, but he ended up sitting down on a stool and the man took it as an invitation. He wasn't ugly but there was something too big about his smile and his stubble was patchy. He'd been with hotter Alphas before, that was for sure. The guy sat opposite of him and tried to chat him up, leaning in and even daring to touch his knee. It was flattering but he hadn't come out for bevs to get hit on like some dumb Omega who didn't know any better. He tried to smile it off and tell him he wasn't looking but the shithead was determined.

 

The Alpha's hand slipped higher. “My place is a lot more comfy than this.”

 

Gavin cringed and finally tried to swat off the bold fingers but he just got a filthy chuckle. “Aw. Don't be like that, pretty.”

 

“Would you piss off already?” Gavin snapped, breath hitching when he felt the scrape of the man's nails on his inner thigh. A blur of color filled his vision and the offending hand was gone.

 

“ 'Sup, bro?” Michael wedged himself between them, getting straight in the man's face until their noses almost touched. There was a touch of slur in his voice but it was no less intimidating. “You messin' with my boy, dude? That's pretty not-fucking-cool.”

 

“Your boy?” the man echoed, standing up to his full height. He was nearly a head taller than Michael but the Omega just threw his shoulders back and his chin up, posturing just as well as any Alpha he'd ever seen. He didn't quite have the leer Geoff had perfected but there was a hard grit to his jaw that made Gavin's stomach curl up into knots.

 

“Yeah, my boy,” Michael scoffed, looking him over pointedly, “And he's not fucking impressed with what you’re selling so why don't you fuck off?”

The Alpha inhaled and a cocky smirk curled his mouth. “Yeah, Omega, that's real cute and all, but we were talkin'. So why don't _you_ fuck off?”

 

“You can bite me, asshole.”

 

Gavin thought it would turn into a fight (once which he wasn't sure he could stop) but Michael switched tactics and threw him and the Alpha off. His friend went behind him and pressed along the length of his back, draping himself onto his body as much as he could. An arm wrapped loosely along the top of his chest and a light kiss was dropped on his thudding pulse. Gavin gasped and his tongue was coated in Michael's soda-sweet scent. The sound turned into a squeak when a hand worked between his thighs, fingers fanning along the stool while the heel of his palm threatened to graze his suddenly interested cock.

 

“You okay, babe?” Michael's voice was a lewd mixture between a growl and a purr and it was pouring into his ear like the bastard was _trying_ to turn him on. “Did this motherfucker hurt you? You know I'll fuck 'im up.”

It took Gavin a few tries but eventually he found enough strength to pat Michael's arm and enough voice to speak again. “I'm fine, love. He was just leaving.”

 

The Alpha's eyes danced between him before mumbled _fuck this_ and left to head back out in the crowd. Michael watched him with a sharp gaze but once he couldn't see him anymore he just laughed and head-butted his friend. “You really okay, man?”

 

“I'm fine,” Gavin assured him, butting back with a relieved smile. “Thanks. He was being a total tit. Thought I was going to have to stab him with one of those fancy little drink umbrellas.”

 

“No problem, Gav. You're my boy.”

 

Michael pressed a wet kiss beneath his jaw and held it for a few seconds, pulling away with a loud smack. He chuckled and shoved the Brit in the shoulder before he told him to get ready to leave soon. He left to snag Geoff and Lindsay from their dumb flail-dancing but Gavin was too stunned to say anything. He just sat there making big eyes at the ground, his beer threatening to topple onto the carpet from his slack grip. The kiss had been playful, sweet even, but it forced his heart to jump up into his throat. It had sent tingles all through him in the way Geoff's kiss had the night of his presenting party – like they'd come from the same person.

 

_‘Would you cut it out already? You’re making me feel bad.’_

_‘How could I when I was fucking worrying about you all night, you asshole!’_

 

He touched the little damp mark on his jaw and could only imagine what he looked like.

 

_I think I'm in love with him. And his Alpha._

 

“Bloody hell.”

 

o0o0o0o

 

Michael figured it out on accident.

 

o0o

 

Jack was put in charge of editing the newest _Let's Build_ and it was just the two of them in the office with Geoff and Gavin doing a podcast and Ray desk-visiting Ryan. Michael was slouched low in his chair and feeling a little left out (not that he would admit it). Geoff never let him edit the _Let's Build's_ despite his begging. They seemed like the most fun because more often than not the duo was drunk off their asses. Michael was never allowed to come over on those nights because they wanted it to always be a surprise and apparently they'd dubbed the Omega a distraction.

 

Being jealous over the whole thing – now _that_ he would never admit.

 

He slipped off his headphones to give his brain a break. His own yelling was sparking a headache that he didn't need today. With his hearing tuned back into the real world he realized Jack was yawning behind him. “You doing okay over there, old man?”

 

“I just cannot wake up today,” the Beta replied as he stood and stretched a bit. His second yawn was obscenely loud and he looked a little embarrassed from it. “That's it. I'm going to go find the biggest mug in this office and fill it to the brim with coffee.”

“You'll be shitting yourself before the day is over!” Michael called after him with a grin, briefly getting flipped off for his effort. “Love you too, Jack.”

 

Feeling daring, Michael did a flying leap from his chair and started running the _Mission Impossible_ theme through his head as he high-jumped over the equipment that had been left in the middle of the floor. He squirmed into Jack's chair with a snicker and snapped his headphones into place. He was about to start speed editing or injecting dumb cow noises into the sections that had already been cleared but paused when he spotted a bright pink sticky note with Geoff's writing on it.

 

**Let's Build Edit:**

**Cut out 35:10 through 41:30**

**Don't listen**

**Trust me**

 

“Well if that doesn't scream 'free blowjobs', I don't know what does.”

 

Michael fast-forwarded and gave a little appreciation to the Almighty Editing Gods that Jack hadn't gotten that far yet. He hit play and settled in for what he hoped was the greatest blackmail ever.

 

“ _How about this..._ ” Geoff started one of their little question sections that always made the rest of the team roll their eyes but secretly made the Omega grin. “ _You have to pay ten thousand dollars-”_

 

“ _Bloody hell, this is new_ ,” Gavin commented. “ _I don't get the ten thousand?_ ”

 

They both sounded drunk as hell, his Alpha even giggled.

 

“ _Hell no, but hear me out._ ” The avatar on screen caught fire but creative mode saved Geoff from an untimely end. “ _You have to pay ten thousand once, just once, but you get to change the status of one person you know. They could be anything. You could make Jack an Omega._ ” Geoff started to lose his voice in laughter. “ _Or, Jesus, Ryan one. Could you imagine? Or you could be an Alpha, whatever. But you have to know them and there's no payment plan. Ten thousand up front in cash.”_

 

“ _Easy, that one. Michael. Hands down_.”

 

Michael's brow furrowed and a flicker of worry made his stomach threaten to cramp. Would Gavin want to change his status to cut out the competition? He thought they were over this. Was he wrong? If he heard something awful now he was going to go beat Gavin's ass and demand he get fired. New friends or not, he wasn't going to let someone trash talk him to his Alpha. 

 

Geoff seemed to be on the same mind track because he sobered up. “ _Michael? What, you'd make him a Beta?_ ”

 

“ _Don't be daft. I'd make him an Alpha in a second if I could_.”

 

Michael was just as stunned as Geoff sounded. “ _Wow. Really?_ ”

“ _Fuck yeah_.” Gavin's words may have blended together but there was a growing fervor behind them. “ _He's so pretty as an Omega, you know, but ever since he's cut his hair and now his arms all are...God, he'd make such a good Alpha. He'd be the kind to take real nice care of 'ya in your heat. He'd probably be real rough but, like, the good rough that makes you sore but also makes you feel really good about yourself in the morning. You know what I mean?_ ”

 

Gavin's little creeper avatar kept building while Geoff (he could only assume) sit and gaped at the Brit like Michael himself was doing at the screen.

 

“ _Gavin...?_ ”

 

“ _He's bloody gorgeous and I wouldn't let a good cock like that go to waste. We'd never get out of bed. I wouldn't just ride his knot, I'd heat-fuck the shit out of him until we both couldn't walk right._ ”

 

Michael couldn't breathe properly but his hand shot down to adjust his hardening cock in his jeans.

 

Geoff's screen went dead still before there was a clink of a bottle.

 

“ _Geoff, what're you doin'_?” Gavin whined. “ _No! Give it back!_ ”

 

“ _No more drinks for you, kid. I think you've had enough_.”

 

“ _Like you wouldn't still fuck him if he wasn't an Alpha?_ ”

 

“ _That is so not the point I'm making._ ”

 

Michael shucked the headset and bolted out of the seat to make a break for the door. He passed Jack in the hall but didn't say a word. He climbed a set of stairs to get to the top floor bathroom that he knew hardly anyone ever used. It was mercifully empty and he ducked inside, flicking the latch to lock it. He didn't dare let himself think about what he was about to do or he knew he wouldn't go through with it. There was no fucking way he was spending the day with blue balls because of Gavin.

 

 _Fuck, Gavin._ Michael worked open his jeans and pushed down his underwear to expose his hard cock to the cool air. He licked a thick stripe of saliva over his palm before he took himself in hand and started stroking.

 

The moment he grazed the sensitive tip his mind cracked the floodgates. He thought of fucking Gavin in heat, the Brit all loose and pliant around his cock and under his teeth. Maybe he didn't have a knot but he could fuck him well enough without it. He'd make him beg, maybe get him on top and force him to ride and earn his right to come. There would be no play wrestling like there was with Geoff. Gavin was a natural submissive Omega and he would fall apart after the first kiss. It would be so easy to slide inside him, feel all that nervous energy around his dick instead in the air. Gavin's mouth and thighs would just open up to him, he just fucking knew they would. He'd score his nails through all that chest hair and find his nipples and bite them until Gavin cried.

 

The image his brain conjured of Gavin mid-climax with glistening eyes and a wet, gaping mouth sent him spilling all over his hand and the wall. Michael didn't know how long he'd been moaning but he snapped his mouth shut the moment he figured it out. His knees were threatening to give out on him and he couldn't catch a proper breath. Everything was humid and fuzzy and he really needed a nap.

 

The thought of cuddling up with Gavin made his dick throb in his hand.

 

_Oh no. Oh God._

 

Michael slapped a hand over his voice, groaning almost painfully.

 

_How long have I been in love with that stupid fucking idiot?_

 

* * *

 

**Can I just say that the rest of the drabbles I have planned for Geoff/Michael/Gavin are basically all just porn? I know that's awful, but I think I wrote all my fluff  
Comments help fuel the fire! **

 


	32. Ray Presents - Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ray suffers through his Change but he has his favorite Alpha there and that makes it easier.

Geoff cornered him at his desk. “Hey, Ryan.”

 

He rolled back until his chair bumped Lindsay's. She glared at them both before turning back to her own project.

 

“Guess what? Ray presented.”

 

Ryan felt like his jaw had come unhinged. He quickly got himself back together and untied his tongue. “That's great news.”

 

“Yeah, except so far it's been rough as hell. From the garbled-ass texts he sent me today, it's getting worse. I did some research and it looks like his age really is fighting against him.”

 

Ryan rubbed the spot on his chest where a physical pang of sympathy shot him. He could easily remember how rough his own change had been. There was a spot of jealousy in there too but he pushed it aside. _Poor kid._ “That's awful. It's good that he has you to watch out for him.”

 

“Yeah, see, here's the thing.” Geoff crossed his arms over his chest. “I already have two Omegas and they're both a handful. I'm getting stretched a little thin.”

 

Ryan got to his feet and couldn't stop the way his lip curled back in an ugly sneer. “So, what, he's not worth your time? He's not in your bed so you don't have the energy to make sure he's well taken care of? You like to call us your 'boys' but the minute Ray – the youngest – gets too much you want to dump him? That's fucking _bullshit_ , Geoff!”

 

His voice bounced loudly around the room and several heads peaked around paper walls. There was the distinct sound of Monty yelping awake and thrashing in his chair. Geoff just smiled and when he spoke his voice was pleasant and smooth, not an ounce of aggression in it.

 

“I was kind of hoping you'd say that,” he stated with a little nod of approval. “I came over here to ask if you'd like to look after him after work until he can do it himself. It'll just be a few days but I'm sure he would appreciate it.”

 

Ryan felt like a popped balloon. His face burned and he sat back down. “Me?”

 

“Why not you?” Geoff asked, leaning his hip on the edge of the desk. “You're an Alpha, you care about him, I trust you, and most of all - Ray trusts you. You wouldn't do anything to him. And if you did, I'd beat the shit out of you and fire you.”

 

Ryan rubbed his hand over his mouth. He'd thought about it, he couldn't deny that. He knew from personal experience the older or younger a person was the harder it was on their body. His first instinct was to say yes and leave work but there was a lot more to it than that. Too much and he'd overwhelm the kid and drive him away. Ray was a human being and his friend and he was in need. Though every drop of Alpha blood in his veins screamed at him to run and do it now, he forced himself to breathe and stay still.

 

“Would I be welcome?”

 

“No fucking shit,” Geoff guaranteed. “He told me he almost called you first, anyway. He was just afraid you wouldn't come.”

 

“Of course I would.”

 

His hand flapped uselessly to indicate what an idiot his boys could be. “That's what I told him. But he was hung up on his insecurities and yada-yada, whatever. And I would be more than happy to take care of him but I think he'd rather have you there.”

 

“I'm not his-” He couldn't bring himself to finish. Reminding himself that Ray wasn't his made his stomach hollow out in yearning. “If he wants me with him, I'll do it. But he has to know that I'm not expecting anything out of it. I don't want him to feel obligated to do anything for me.”

 

“He won't.” He saw the look in Ryan's eyes and scoffed. “ _But_ – I'll call him and talk to him. And then you and I will talk.”

 

o0o

“Ray?”

 

“ _God, Geoff, this fucking sucks._ ”

 

“How bad is it?”

 

“ _I...I can't get out of bed_ ,” Ray admitted over the line. “ _Is this what a heat feels like?_ ”

 

“No way, it's not even close. There's a difference between in-heat fever and becoming-an-Omega fever. Trust me, you'll understand in a few months. It'll pass.”

 

“ _I'm not sure how much longer I can stay awake._ ”

 

“You can go to sleep after I hang up. But I have to ask you something first.” He chewed the side of his lip, praying the new-Omega was going to handle this well. “I'll take care of you, you know that. But what if Ryan came over?”

 

“ _W-What?_ ”

 

“I talked to him and he's down for it. He'll do everything I did but I know you're sweet on him.” He grinned at Ray's little gasp of surprise. “He wants to do it, he wants to help you, I can see it on his face. But he won't do anything until he's know you're on board one hundred percent. If you’re more comfortable with me, he'll understand and he won't hold it against you. You'll still be friends when you come back from the office. And he said he wanted you to know that he isn't expecting anything out of it besides making sure you get through this as easily as possible.”

 

There was a long pause before the line was full of a whimper. “ _Is he coming tonight?_ ”

 

“Do you want him to?”

 

“ _Yes._ ” The word audibly splintered. “ _I'm sorry._ ”

 

“That's fine, I'm not upset. I'd rather have you with an Alpha you’re comfortable with,” Geoff reassured him. He could hear the uncertainty seeping into the kid’s tone. “Ryan will be good to you. He'll be by a little after work. Just lay down and relax, okay?”

 

“ _I'll try_.” Now Ray's voice was shaking with nerves. “ _I look awful right now, Geoff. I want to see him so bad but I don't want him to hate me. I-I'm gonna blow my chance_.”

 

“Ray. Shut up. Everything's going to be fine. I don't know how many times I have to tell you he doesn't give a shit about stuff like that. Just concentrate on you. And on the small chance he isn't completely in love with you after this, he doesn't fucking deserve you. You hear me?”

 

Ray laughed but it was weak. “ _I'm so tired of worrying about this_.”

 

“We all are. Get some rest.”

 

o0o

 

Ryan had just booted down his computers for the day when Geoff popped up out of nowhere with a list. It was shoved into his hands and he nearly dropped his keys and bag trying to get a hold of it.

 

“That's everything you're going to need to pick up at the store.” Geoff nodded toward the list the other Alpha was trying to read through (he had to pull out his glasses to focus on it properly). “Throw romance out the window, Romeo. This is big boy Alpha shit right here. You ready?”

 

Ryan nodded quickly. Geoff wasn't much older than him but he had more experience with stuff like this and he wanted to be the best he could for Ray.

 

“You're going to need to change the sheets once he's sweated through them. Make sure he eats at least once while you're there, get him to drink one bottle of water a day, and the brand of ice packs I wrote down stay cold for longer but they're not as strong so it's more likely he won't rip them off,” Geoff rattled on, counting each point on his fingers as the other Alpha nodded along and made mental notes. “You'll need to wash all the bedding that's dirty. Open up all the windows but close them before you leave. His scent's going to be really strong but not heat-strong but it’s best not to take the risk. There's a certain brand of FDA sanctified hormone regulators that he's going to need to take for at least two weeks. Throw away the kind I got him. This other will be better for him in the long run. It was the only thing I could find at whatever in the morning but when Gavin took them he got really sick after the first day. And pick him up another big blanket because the one we left on the couch the other night probably reeks and needs washed. Got all that?”

 

Ryan blinked dully as the words spun hot trails around and around in his head. It was a lot to take in all at once. But they were all things that after he heard he realized how much common sense they were. He folded up the list and put in his pocket.

 

“Do these broth cubes on your list have extra vitamins or will the regulators take care of it?”

 

Geoff visibly relaxed. _Thank God. Let the courting begin._

 

“They should do the trick.” The older Alpha dug around in his pocket until he found the piece of metal he was looking for. “Almost forgot. Here.”

 

Ryan let it lay in the middle of his palm while he studied it. “Is this Ray's key?”

 

“Yep, just head on in.”

 

Ryan felt the first trickles of guilt. “And I'm not taking advantage of him?”

 

“If he asks for it back, give it to him.” Geoff tried not to roll his eyes. “Consider it the first indication of courting or whatever Ye' Old Alphas were written about doing in textbooks.”

 

“We're not really there in our relationship,” Ryan admitted quietly. “I wanted to take things a little slower than this.”

 

Geoff wanted to flail his arms around but he decided something so 'Gavin' was not appropriate. He settled for putting some bass in his voice. “Jesus Christ, Ryan, you're going there to keep his fever down and make sure he doesn't drown in his own vomit. It's something his fucking _father_ would do for him! If you two were going any slower you'd be going backward, okay? So just listen to me and enjoy it because I'm pretty sure you've been taking care of Ray for months now and this is when _really_ needs you. Or is this weird situation _too much_ for you?”

 

The obvious jab made him wince. “I shouldn't have snapped like that.”

 

“Yeah, well, your damsel's in distress.” He shot him a wink. “I'd do the same if it were Michael.”

 

Ryan peered at him from beneath his lashes. “Or Gavin.”

 

Geoff tensed for a fraction of a second before he burst out a laugh that almost made him jump. “Or Gavin, yeah. Now get out of here. I want you at work tomorrow but right after...?”

 

“Back to Ray's.”

 

Ryan walked past him but didn't get very far before his name was called. “Yeah?”

 

Geoff had on that dopey smile he usually reserved for his Omegas. “You're a damn good Alpha. You've got a great set of instincts. Ray, uh...Ray deserves someone like that.”

 

Ryan wanted to tell Geoff that it was the most gratifying thing anyone had ever said to him, that he would love to be Ray's Alpha, and that he would protect the kid at all costs, but he couldn't. Years of others considering him too quiet or too weird or too geeky to be an Alpha kept his words locked up inside. He almost physically couldn't voice how much he appreciated the praise.

 

It was too deep, too personal, it meant too much. It was the kind of stuff he could only talk about with a few beers in him in the privacy of a home, not here in front of the people he shared the back room with.

 

Instead he just raised a hand in parting and walked away.

 

_Maybe Ray and I do belong together. Neither of us can talk to grown-ups._

 

o0o0o0o

 

Ryan lugged several plastic bags into Ray’s house, feeling more like an intruder than he really should. The smell nearly bowled him over and he had to put his sleeve to his nose to try and keep a level head. It was good but it was strong. It was like someone had super-heated a pan and dumped liquid sugar onto it – burnt caramel, hot corn syrup, cupcake icing that had been left in the heat too long. It was almost sickly but he would still eat it by the spoonful if given the chance.

 

_Now’s not the time for this._

 

He’d gone overboard with the groceries and spent at least twenty minutes organizing the fridge and cupboards before he went looking for his friend. The scent was strongest in the bedroom and that’s where he found him. Ray was a lump of covers with a face peeking out and he’d never looked cuter. His cheeks were all red and his glasses were sliding low on his nose. He jumped when he saw the Alpha.

 

He threw up his palms in surrender. “It’s just me. Didn’t Geoff tell you I was coming?”

 

“Yeah, sorry,” Ray apologized with a newly hoarse voice, pushing the blanket off his head and smiling weakly. “I...I don’t feel too hot.”

 

“I know.” Ryan debated his next action but decided to just go with it and sat on the edge of his friend’s bed. “I want to make you’re completely okay with me being here. Even if you’re a little uncomfortable, I can respect that and have Geoff here instead. Or maybe one of the Lads.”

 

“Ryan?” Ray croaked, lithe shoulders shuddering under the cover of his blanket. “I’ve never felt this bad in my life and everything’s all fucked and you smell like you can fix it so can you please – _please_ – take care of me for a little while and stop overanalyzing like the big nerd I know you are?”

 

The raw appeal for help lit a fire in his belly and he nodded, shaking the dust off his Alpha side and letting himself slip into it. “There’s a new blanket on the couch. Leave this here and go get under that. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

 

Ray looked as if he’d been given the greatest gift and got up on newborn-calf legs. Ryan cleared his throat and when the boy turned to look at him he held out a slick pad he’d taken from the package Geoff must have left by the bed. “Grab some new underwear too. Leave those with the dirty clothes.”

 

Ray blanched and took it quickly before scurrying away with new strength. Ryan stripped the bed even down to the pillow cases and bundled it all together, dragging the make-shift bag and a few choice pieces of clothes from the pile in the corner of the room. Geoff’s list had consisted of the phrase: _He’s in his twenties, just buy everything you need to make a bed because I know he doesn’t have shit else in his house._ He grabbed the bag from the living room and re-made the bed with the fresh, hypoallergenic, Omega-sensitive stuff he’d scoured the store for.

 

When he went back to the living room, Ray was wrapped up in the blanket he’d brought and had his head resting against the back of the couch like it was too heavy to lift. Ryan got some water boiling on the stove before dragging the (now much smaller) bag over and dropping down beside him. “Pretty terrible, huh?”

 

“Yeah,” his voice cracked like he was going through puberty and he showed surprise.

 

“It’ll do that. Hormones and everything,” Ryan laughed softly, twist open a water bottle and the new regulators. “Geoff thought these would be better for you. You need to take two in the morning and at night for…” He checked the label. “Two weeks.”

 

Ray swallowed them without a grimace. “They taste a lot better than the others.”

 

He broke open the packaging of a thermometer and clicked it on. “Open up.”

 

Ray’s lips parted and let the metal tuck under his tongue with a sigh. Ryan let him sit there and headed back to the kitchen to pour out a mug of near-boiling water and plopped a broth cube and some ice in it. It blended well and he tested it with the tip of his finger. The thermometer beeped and he headed back.

 

“Let’s see.” He pulled it out and cringed when he saw triple digits.

 

“That bad?”

 

“You’ll live.”

 

Ray started to laugh but his throat rasped up and he reached for the water. He slugged down half the bottle before he forced himself to set it aside. The movement jostled his blanket. The material fell apart to reveal a slice of bare chest. If Ryan thought the house smelled good it was pure nectar that poured off Ray’s skin. One sniff and his pupils blew, hand shooting out to grab the edge of the blanket and use it as leverage to yank him closer. He huffed in the burnt-sugar scent straight from the curve of the boy’s neck. Ray moaned in his ear and melted, letting him do whatever he wanted. The sound drove a spike of clarity through his suddenly muddled senses. He gently let him go and pulled the blanket closed.

 

“I’m sorry,” he cleared his own throat to dislodge the hoarseness that had come in to it. “I’ve never smelled a new Omega before. It’s a little-” _Intoxicating._ “-overwhelming.”

 

“I didn’t mean to do that,” Ray replied truthfully, making sure the blanket was tucked tight around him. “I’m curious – is it like a new baby smell or a new car smell?”

 

“Both of those options are creepy and I’m not sure how to answer that.”

 

“Come on, Ryan, you’re the Creepy Guy,” the jest was light and it made him feel a little less guilty about his lack of control.

 

“Let’s get this in you,” Ryan waggled his eyebrows to make the boy laugh at the double meaning before he raised up the mug. Ray went to grab it but his fingers fumbled on the ceramic. He pulled his hand back and flexed it but the movement was sluggish. “You alright?”

 

Ray frowned down at his digits. “I guess I’m a little weaker than I thought.”

 

“Here, just let me…

o0o

 

Ray had never been more grateful for a stuffy nose because under any other circumstance he would be harder than _Minecraft_ diamonds from his favorite Alpha saddling up behind him. Ryan’s leg stretched along the length of the couch, wedged between his hip and the back cushion, the other rested on the floor. Ryan was usually warm but the first start of the fever made him feel cool, firm arms coming around him.

 

“Drink slowly,” Ryan ordered, the rim of the mug touching his lower lip. He complied, eyes falling closed as he took little sips. It was salty and felt good going down his throat, a new kind of heat pooling in his chest and slowly spreading through his limbs. With each mouthful he let himself slump a little further into the Alpha, trusting that he would keep him from choking. A pleasant buzz overrode the constant grind on his nerves. It felt like a secret between them, something precious he needed to lock up inside him for when days got too much.

 

It wasn't something he'd easily forget.

 

o0o0o0o

 

Ryan came back the next day straight after work. The smell was even more potent than the day before and the air wasn't so much saturated with it rather than humid. He spent a few minutes bent over with his hands on his knees just breathing and getting used to it. Though he'd managed to keep his libido in check it was hard to deny everything inside him that kept screaming to lick the spun-sugar scent right from Ray's skin to replace it with his own.

 

He shook it off and started toward the bedroom to see what state his friend was in. The moment he hit the doorway he had to dig his shoes into the floor to keep from launching himself across the room, picking Ray up in his arms, and nuzzling him until this whole thing passed. Pushing down his first instincts made him sick to his stomach but he powered through it.

 

Ryan went and grabbed the ice packs from the freezer along with a bottle of cold water and a washcloth. He took his place on the side of the bed and looked over the new Omega.

 

Ray was sprawled out on his back, eyes closed but lids twitching under the power of a fever dream. He was radiating heat and bathed in his own sweat, dark hair matted but looking richer in color. The sheet was tugged around his waist, white fabric contrasting off his tan calves and the top of his quivering stomach. Another time in another place he could have more than appreciated the boy's form but now was neither. Ray was struggling for breath, chest shuddering in effort. He went to touch his forehead and found the flesh sweltering under his fingertips. The younger didn't even register the contact. He was probably too lost in himself to see anything past his nose at this point.

 

Ryan managed to coax him onto his stomach with only a few senselessly muttered words in protest. The boy was clearly gone and it only made him more determined to get him through this. He laid one ice pack on the back of Ray's neck, the other on his lower back. Some cold water was poured on the cloth and once it was wet enough he started swiping it along his pulse points to try and get his temperature.

 

“I wish I could say that you're going to be a beautiful Omega, but, uh,” Ryan laughed quietly to himself as he rubbed the cloth along his friend's inner wrist, admiring the size of his hands and faintly wondering just how good they would feel in his hair or along his shoulders. “I don't think I'd be able to tell the difference between before and after. Maybe the others will, but you’ve always been pretty damn good looking to me. You're going to get so much attention after this. It'll be good of you but...”

 

He let his control slip but only long enough to press a kiss to the clean, delicate skin. _Don't forget me._

 

Once he'd done all he could, and double checked that the ice packs were still chilled, he took up all the dirty clothes he could and carried them to the laundry room with the waiting bundle of bedding from the day before. The machines were old, probably already there when Ray moved in, but they were easy enough to get going.

 

He decided to finish the laundry and stay late tonight. Maybe he could even get Ray to eat something.

 

o0o

 

His mind had laid itself out like a first person shooter. The fever washed over him so thickly all he could do was suffer under it. Everything was chaotic and pointless but it all made perfect sense. He couldn't shake it, he didn't know he needed to.

_Have to set up sights...within range..._

 

Ray choked. If he didn't set up a headshot he couldn't breathe.

 

_Perimeters. Conditions. Have to meet requirements._

 

Every time his sights slipped away from a shadowed enemy, his lungs seized up. But once he lined it up they relaxed and the world straightened on its axis.

 

Someone was there that he couldn't see and they had gentle hands. They brought an icy wind that cut through the game and made it fade. He tried to figure out where it was coming from but he ended up falling head first back into his dreams.

 

o0o0o0o

 

Ryan came in the next day as well. He took a water bottle from the fridge and made straight for the bedroom, glad to see Ray sitting up. He was about to express how glad but he couldn't when his friend looked so forlorn. Ray had managed to get himself into some pajama pants but his bare back was still beaded in sweat. His knees were drawn up and he'd slumped over them, cheek resting there and eyes downcast. He was panting lightly but was otherwise quiet. He'd seen this demeanor before when the other would get down on himself at work. “Ray?”

 

Dark eyes drifted up to meet his own. “I didn't think you'd come.”  

 

“Now why the hell would you think that?” Ryan tried to tease but the humor fell flat. He sat down beside the boy and put the back of his hand to his forehead. _Still hot_. He didn't expect any different. “I know this feels like its going on forever but it will end. How do you feel?”

 

“Heavy,” Ray admitted, still sounding rough, “Everything is... _heavy_. I can't even do this right.”

 

Ryan sighed. “Ray...”

 

“I don't deserve to be an Omega,” he choked out, turning his face into his legs to hide the first grimace of tears. “I should've stayed classless. Omegas are supposed to be pretty like Michael and good with people like Gavin. My face is too weird and I hate people. There's so many and they're so loud and they're mean and they don't...don't understand me.”

 

“Shh,” Ryan stroked through his hair and silently urge him to take the water bottle. Ray sniffed and raised his head, gripping the cold plastic and bringing it to his mouth. As he sipped Ryan moved around behind him and broad hands started to massage the sore muscles. He moaned and sighed around the bottle, enjoying it more than he should have.

 

“I don't think I ever told you about how I presented.”

 

Ray shook his head, sipping water as best he could.

 

“I was sixteen, which is insanely too young,” Ryan began, the words coming easier than he thought they would. “I had a bad allergic reaction and they pumped me full of steroids. My body couldn't keep up so I got a knot and that's about it.”

 

Ray frowned. “Sixteen? Jesus Christ.”

 

“Yeah, that's what the doctors said,” Ryan dug his thumbs into the crease of the boy's spine, forcing a keen to escape his lips. “They ran a thousand tests and all they could come up with is for me to play the waiting game. They said I'd grow eventually but it would take time. What they didn't tell me was what would happen between then and there.”

 

Ray leaned into him, head cocked and bottle still resting against his mouth.

 

“Before I presented my parents thought I'd be a Beta. I wasn't much to look at,” he continued, palms running down the other's arms and back up.

 

Ray laughed but it was scratchy. “I bet you were adorable.”

 

Ryan brushed his nose along the shell of a tan ear and got a more nervous chuckle for his trouble. “For a Beta, yeah, maybe. But I looked wrong for years. I stayed small and no matter what I ate or how much I tried to exercise I couldn't balk up. I would lay in bed at night and pray for something to happen, anything. The other Alphas would pick on me about my size any chance they got. Locker rooms were avoided at all costs. They grow them big in Georgia and every guy seemed to look like a linebacker.”

 

“Bunch of assholes,” he muttered.

 

“They were,” he agreed. “I liked technology. I liked theater and books and science fiction. That was really _not_ cool back then. And my bullies were pretty damn persistent. Eventually my anxiety got the best of me. Every time I lost my breath I thought it was my body giving out on me. And when I learned it was because of what other people were doing to me, that I was letting them get to me so bad...it only made it worse.”

 

Ryan combed his fingers through Ray's hair but stopped before he could go through a full stroke. “I'm sorry, I shouldn't-”

 

“No, go ahead,” Ray hummed pleasantly and pushed back into it. “And keep talking. I like this story.” _I like your voice._

 

“You little shit, this is my life,” Ryan protested playfully, digging his fingers in a little until the other tried to wiggle away. His hand got swatted at weakly. Glad to see his friend in higher spirits, he continued.

 

“Alphas used to hit on me in college.” The statement stuck in his throat and he had to swallow a few times to continue. “It kind of fucked me up. Back then it was really expected to date class-appropriate and I started to think my biology was wrong, that I was just a fucked up Omega or something. I used to stay up researching hormones to find out if you could reverse it or if people could have a false presenting.”

 

Ray laid a hand over his on his arm and squeezed.

 

“I was a little younger than you before I started filling out. Once the teasing stopped and I started looking appropriate I managed to start liking myself again It was years before I found the strength to be a proper Alpha. All that fighting made me who I am right now.”

 

“You're a good Alpha.” The confession was soft in his ear and it filled him with a glow he'd never gotten from praise before. He pressed a firm kiss to his friend's temple before he nudged his nose against the spot.

 

“Thank you.” They were the words he couldn't say to Geoff. “And if I can do it, you can.”

 

Ray shifted until they were face to face, expression earnest. “Do you ever have doubts?”

 

“Everyone has doubts,” he breathed, smoothing the strands he'd ruffled. “Most of the time I look in the mirror and I see the person I am, but sometimes all I can see is the kid with a knot and glasses and zero dates because no one wanted a scrawny Alpha.”

 

Ray looked over the Alpha's face and could see it. The insecurity, the old wounds. It was written in the lines beside his eyes and the faint crease in his brow. He wanted to kiss him, unaware the other was thinking the same thing. He wasn't sure what to say so he blurted out the first thing he could think of. “Would it be weird if I wanted to lay down in your lap?”

 

“No, of course not. Come here.” The Alpha smiled and let him go, moving to sit against the wall. Ray tried not to act too eager but he dragged his blanket up and moved in. Ryan grabbed a pillow for him and helped him settle because his arms were like jelly and his head felt like a bowling ball. Though his senses were all over the place, he could tell the man's scent was changing for him. Soon it just wouldn't be savory and warm...it would be the virile scent of an Alpha. _An Alpha who might just be a little into me._

 

Ryan's hand laid on top of his head, oh-so-close to the back of his neck where he really wanted it. “Are you gonna' stay awake long enough for me to make you something to drink?”

 

“Depends.”

 

“It's ginseng tea. I bought honey and ginger to put in it,” Ryan admitted a little shyly. “Your throat sounds rough and I thought it would help.”

 

“On one condition. I don't know if it's just an Omega thing or what, but...” Ray blushed from more than fever as he took the man's hand and started to move it, letting the large fingers curl across his nape. It was like an instant high, his mind going blissfully quiet and still. It was a light pressure, hardly anything, but it felt so good he had to swallow a groan of content. “Can you hold me like this for a minute? I-I know it's stupid.”

 

Ryan's hand tightened and he shuddered before going lax in the man's lap. Goosebumps broke out all along his skin and he sighed, the weight giving him a singular point to focus on. “It's a grounding thing. Don't worry about it. I'll do this for you whenever you want.”

 

“You're a good friend.” His tongue lolled clumsily over the words as his eyelids drooped. “I might sleep. Wake me up in a bit?”

 

But he was out before he could hear the answer.

 

o0o0o0o

 

The fourth day was like the second except worse. Ray couldn't be roused to do anything, not even to drink. Ryan did what he could but he felt helpless as he tried to cool the boy down as best he could. He felt the impulse to crawl in next to him and scent but it was forced down and he just got up to get the rest of the ice packs.

 

In the end he had to make himself go home but he didn't sleep a wink.

 

o0o0o0o

 

Ray was actually awake and aware when he came back early the next day. He opened up all the windows to get some of the stuffiness out before he walked the new Omega to the couch to have a change of scenery. Ray had managed to put on a shirt and shorts himself but his body was still a shivery mess. He napped briefly on the cushions as Ryan took the raw ingredients he'd bought a few days before and whipped together a light chicken soup. Just broth, small noodles, and bits of chicken and mushroom he fried in a pan. It would be easy to eat and hot, full of the nutrients he needed.

 

He turned the TV and put on some dumb stunt show that Ray often enjoyed before he woke his friend. It was slow going but he managed to drink the soup. It felt good and warm through his body but his stomach was still cramping.

 

“I can't eat anymore,” he gave up after he was down to the dregs

 

“That's fine,” Ryan assured him, taking the cup in exchange for a mini bottle of water and two pills. “Take these. I'm going to make you something you can eat later if you're up to it.”

 

Ray obeyed and waited patiently as the Alpha bustled around his kitchen for a while before two sandwiches were wrapped and stuck in the fridge. There was a buzz of a phone before he came back into the room. “I'm going to go strip your bed but I have to leave after. Monty needs me for something about the rendering software eating up their footage.”

 

“Actually...” the word hung in the air between them and Ryan stopped, waiting for the next part. Ray wet his lip and started to chew at a spot where it was splitting. He wasn't drinking enough water and he knew it but he'd spent most of time delusional the past few days. He would make sure to hydrate up now that he was feeling better.. “I can handle the rest on my own.”

 

Dread hung heavy at the base of his throat. “Do you want Geoff to come? Have I done something?”

 

“No! God, no, Ryan.” Ray turned on the couch, meeting his eyes over the back of it. “No. Don't think that. I still feel really unsettled and gross and I'm all over the place. And I feel loads better than I did yesterday so I don't think I'll go crazy again. You won't believe the dreams I had.” _You're ranting now, dumbass._ “I want to try and do it on my own now.”

 

“I can come tomorrow. It's really no trouble.”

 

“You've done so much for me. I don't want to push it,” he explained while his stomach tried to revolt. “I know I'm an Omega now – which still blows my mind – but I really don't want you to treat me with kid gloves. Maybe a few months ago I would've dreamed for an opportunity like this but you're one of my best friends now. I don't want you to look at me any differently. It's like what you said...I need to find my own strength in being an Omega. And honestly, I'm just going to sleep for the next two days anyway.”

 

Ryan swallowed down the dull sense of rejection that tried to well up. He couldn't take anything personally. When he was changing he didn't want anyone near him and that had been for days.

 

“Okay, but you should know that I wouldn't mind. I like taking care of you,” Ryan admitted sheepishly. “And I'll never look at you any differently than I am right now.”

 

Ray tried not to visibly vibrate under the Alpha's intense stare but he didn't stop the whine that left him as he pulled the blanket tighter. It was a heated look, one he'd only seen a few times and very rarely in his direction. It looked like he wanted to eat him up just to keep him from the rest of the world. “You keep that up and you're gonna give a boy ideas.”

 

“Well we wouldn't want that.” The sarcasm practically dripped off him.

 

“You've asked me before if you could do something and not be mad,” Ray said, fingers bone white under the blanket. “You think I can play that card?”

 

“Of course.”

 

“I read that it takes a couple days for a scent to settle into the body after the Change. I'd rather you smell it, as an Alpha, after that's over.”

 

Ryan looked a little confused.

 

“I know it's stupid but...” _Lie, make something up, you're so fucking stupid_. _Don’t you dare tell him you want to smell good for him. That’s fucking weird._ “I want your honest opinion of it. If I stink, you better be a friend and tell me. I've been dying to know for years what it'll be and I'm kind of putting money on roses.”

 

There was a brief flash of disappointment on Ryan's face before he laughed, a hand coming up to scrub through his hair. “Yeah, okay. I'll be as brutally honest as possible. I'll tell Geoff you're going to take next week off to recover. Will that be enough time?”

 

“That's a good idea.” Ray nodded and tried to stand up but his legs wobbled almost dangerously before he fell back down. “Uh, before you go...do you think you can help me to bed? I am fucking _beyond_ tired.”

 

Ryan hurried to help him. He wanted to offer to carry him but he knew it'd be too much. Ray hobbled along with little labored breaths into the bedroom and he wished that he could take all the hurt away and feel it himself but that wasn't how the world worked. The Omega clung to him as he laid him down on the pillows, tan hands sliding down both his arms as they reluctantly parted. He knew he wouldn’t get that burnt sugar smell out of the fabric anytime soon. He checked to make sure there were small snacks and at least two bottles of water by the bed before he completely stepped away.

 

“And maybe one more thing?”

 

Ryan nodded.

 

“Can you grab me your coat out of the closet?” Ray thought he was going to die of embarrassment but there was a yearning in his chest that he couldn't deny. If he was going to make himself suffer without the Alpha he needed something with his smell to tide him over.

 

Ryan looked amused as he went to the closet and found the jacket he'd leant him all those months ago hanging there. He leaned in, sniffed it, and then frowned thoughtfully. “Hold on.”

 

Ray's uncertainty mounted as the Alpha disappeared into the other half of the apartment. But right before it could bubble over he returned, the zip hoodie he'd worn over now in his hands. “Here. Take this one. Fresh scent and everything.”

 

Ray reached for it but he was full of doubt. “This is weird, right?”

 

“No,” Ryan promised, watching him lay it on his pillow a little closer than he should have, “You need an Alpha scent to make you feel safe. It's biology.”

 

“Thanks.” It was awkward but no less sincere. “For everything, you know?”

 

“I enjoyed it.”

 

“I don't believe that.”

 

“Eh, believe what you want.” Ryan pulled out his key and waved it. “I can give this back when you come in. I want to lock the door behind me.”

 

“Keep it,” Ray gestured at the key before he dropped the hand onto his jacket. “And I'll keep this.”

 

The bone-deep Alpha instinct reared its ugly head and demanded he get in bed with the Omega to properly scent mark him. It took a long moment to get rid of it. Ray didn't know what he was doing. He was just now an Omega, he didn't understand the intimacy of trading scents. He'd probably seen couples like Geoff and Michael do it when they thought they had a moment of privacy but it wasn't the same as experiencing it. He reminded himself yet again that this wasn't the time for this.

 

Pulling himself out of that apartment was the single hardest thing he's ever done.

 

* * *

 

 

**Not to kill the magic or anything but this was the single most difficult thing I've had to write in at least a year. It was like pulling fucking teeth. I know everyone was really excited for it and I think I put too much pressure on myself and I really just think...it's kind of...like, total rubbish. BUT! That's me, and that doesn't mean it's not enjoyable. I hope this lives up to your expectation. I will definitely make up for it in the future with much less poorly written chapters.**

**But damn, man, they are so fucking cute, aren't they? *hearts everywhere***

**Also: I had a fever dream like that and let me tell you, it's fucking terrifying. I literally had to play a game in my head that looked just like Halo otherwise I couldn't breathe.**  

 

 


	33. Michael and Gavin VI

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael catches Gavin changing and their dynamic shifts.

Gavin hummed happily as he stripped off his shirt. The laundry room smelled like cotton and he would never tell Geoff that the reason he liked to leave his clean clothes in there was because he felt all warm and snuggly in the tiny room with its hampers and heavy duty washer and dryer. He changed in there all the time just for the sheer fact that the coziness made him smile. And he was mucking about in it now because Kara and Monty were coming over for bevs and Peggle. There was a chance Chris and Lindsay would swing by too so Geoff was going all out with the food and Gavin wanted to look mildly presentable.

 

He knew it was an old-fashioned idea but he was an Omega living in Geoff's house and he wanted to look good, kinda show off what the Alpha had. It was stupid because Geoff didn't _have_ him or whatever but it felt good to do it and it wasn't a big deal. He saw these people every day, no one actually cared. _And none of them bloody hit on me because they're too afraid Geoff or Michael will bite their heads off._

 

Gavin flicked open his pants to take them off but he stopped when he saw the heavy strap of a jock, the tips of his ears burning. He had had a small collection of them but he only wore them at home. It wasn't a fetish thing, he never wore them when he and Dan were together, but it was a habit he couldn't quit ever since Geoff had reacted so strongly to him in one. It was years ago but it had instilled in him a sense of sensuality whenever he put one on. They were comfortable and soft. They kept his junk all neat and wrapped up but they let the denim of his jeans rub against the sensitive skin of his ass. It was a win-win, really.

 

He was debating whether to change out of it or not when the door opened up. He spun around, an arm instinctively going up to cover his chest, but he dropped it when he realized it was just Michael. The other Omega had a laundry basket on his hip. He gave Gavin a once-over before he set his burden on the dryer and propped himself up against the door way. Arms crossed over his chest, weight settling on the frame in a too-casual stance. “Go on.”

 

“Whot'?”

 

“Change.” It was almost an order. “Don't let me get in your way.”

 

Gavin clutched the shirt he'd just stripped off to his chest. “Well don't watch.”

 

Michael simply stared expectantly, a fervor in his eyes that couldn't be brushed off as fooling around. He didn't look like he'd be budging any time soon either. He knew that if he demanded it Michael would leave but...he wasn't sure if he wanted him to. It was dumb and probably didn't mean what he thought it did but-

 

_Ah, toss it._

Gavin threw the tangled cord of thoughts away and just put his back to the other. If someone called him out he'd never admit to it but he went slower, bending over more than necessary to peel off his jeans. There was a sharp intake of breath behind him and he smiled despite himself. The thick strap of the jock dragged across his hipbone and cool air brushed some delicate skin that reminded him that his ass was quite literally hanging out. His mind (always an enemy) filled up with the memory of Geoff walking into his room. The Alpha had been flushed from a heavy night of drinking, mouth agape, and his usual half-lidded stare wide and wanting. He'd never had a man look at him that way before and it had stolen his breath right out his lungs. His blood rushed hot and his cock swelled in soft fabric. The rush of terror that Michael would notice did nothing to stop it. A small part of him wanted him to see, to maybe do something about it.

 

What was a playful tease a moment ago was now so much more.

 

Gavin grabbed a pair of clean, simple khaki shorts and pulled them on much more quickly. He snagged a polo that was a lighter tan and was about to pull it on when he heard footsteps. A quick glance down showed that Michael was standing right behind him. A hand came around his body and shoved a hoody into his chest. It was the one his friend had been wearing and now his arms were bare, tattoos on full display along with the pale expanse of his skin. They were so pretty like the rest of him with a fine shimmer of auburn hair and the curve of muscles that he wanted to trace with his tongue. “Wear this.”

 

Gavin took it and felt the other's warmth clinging to the strands. It was one of AH's older merch and time had made it soft. He lifted it a little closer to his face and it was smelled so strongly of Michael that it made his head dizzy. The other Omega's arm dropped but his hand paused, brushing firmly over the bulge in his jock. It was deliberate but brief. The contact made him visibly shudder and a little moan fell from his mouth before could shove it back down his throat. Michael had never touched him like that before and the contact shocked his system.

 

A hand settled along his bare side. “You okay?”

 

It was a loaded question if he'd ever heard one. So many things laid in those words: Permission, admittance, agreement. Seeking. Questioning. _Are you okay with this?_

 

“I'm fine,” he managed to say, more hope than he could house filling up his chest. “Completely fine, boy.”

 

“Good.” Michael slapped him on the back. “Hurry the fuck up. Food's almost done and we gotta’ get the big screen set up.”

 

The moment the door shut he shamelessly palmed himself. He wondered if he had time to have a quick wank before everyone got there but decided he couldn't go through the night without one.

 

Even after he'd come and was laying there content and panting he still couldn't figure out if this was a good thing or a bad thing.


	34. Ryan and Ray IX

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ray has a dream about the Mad King.

**The first part is a dream and I'm not going to put it all in italics because that's stupid obnoxious to read.**

 

* * *

 

 

Candles were scattered throughout the chamber to cast in a low, golden light. The hearth was alive but the stone walls gave off a chill that could never be completely fought off. Everything was swathed in blood red and silver trim. The royal colors. He continued along the flowery path that had led him there. Rose petals tickled his bare heels. His smallclothes barely covered his modesty but there was no one around to see him.

 

He ran his fingertips over the silk cover and marveled how it shined in the firelight. More rose petals laid scattered over the sheets, fresh and plump as if they'd just been picked.

 

A shadow fell over him before the swell of a rose brushed his cheek, the petals cool while an all-too-warm body pressed up behind him. There were those in the kingdom who would cry and fall to their knees in the man's presence. Panic curled in his furiously beating heart but his feet were frozen to the floor. He couldn't run.

 

“I've been waiting for you my sweet, little flower,” a deep voice rumbled in his ear, the rose trailing delicately down his neck past his thudding pulse. “You were beautiful today in court. You couldn't look at me. Not even once. Your pretty eyes were on the floor all evening. I should be happy that you would look at no other but somehow I feel insulted.”

 

Without warning, the flower dropped and he was grabbed by the neck. He was tossed onto the bed like a sack of flour with a cry that bounced off the walls. Petals crushed fragrantly under his palms as he caught himself and flipped onto his back. The man at the end of the bed was as naked and held himself without a care of his vulnerability. He was handsome, no one had ever said otherwise. His eyes, usually the color of an oncoming storm, were blazing amber with the madness the realm said he was cursed with. A strapping Alpha with powerful shoulders and a voice that could shake mountains if it willed to do so. A man that wore a crown in public like it was weightless and ruled with a ruthless efficiency that struck fear in his enemies and subjects alike. Men trembled when he passed, women yearned and shied away, children scattered, and dogs growled but did not bark.

 

“My king,” he whispered, not daring to sit up or else invoke anger.

 

The Mad King Ryan watched him with unadulterated hunger.

 

“I did not bid you here to be clothed. Show me what's mine.”

 

“I'm sorry, your Grace.” He hurried to shed his thin pants and let them drop over the side, never straying too far from the center. His king had placed him here and that was where he intended to stay. Desire pumped just as hot as the fear in his veins. His lustful flesh swelled and grew wet at the tip as he revealed himself to his king.

 

Ryan's grin was razor sharp and one of the most truly terrifying things about him. “My _obedient,_ little flower.”

He kept still as the king crawled upon his grand bed, slowly passing over his sprawled form. Fingers skimmed over his calves, the outsides of his thighs, the ridges of his ribs, past the peaks of his nipples, and finally curling around the column of his neck. Any other would panic but he only gasped as pure desire shot to his cock, arching up into the man's palms and parting his thighs in invitation. He trusted him with his life, as he did every time he came into these royal chambers. 

 

“Look at you,” Ryan tisked as if he was disappointed though they both knew he was anything but. A broad palm left his throat to slip between his legs, blunt fingers probing his most intimate place. They came back shining and he felt an abrupt spark of shame at his wantonness. “Wet already. What a little slut my future queen is.”

 

“My king...”

 

The hand still on his throat squeezed tight enough to cut off his air as clever tongue laved over the slick fingers.

 

“And how sweet he tastes.”

 

o0o

 

Ray woke up wet in places he never had before and hard as a rock. He laid in bed staring up at the ceiling unsure if he should be ashamed or turned on or worried about his sanity. Turning a silly _Minecraft_ joke into a sexual fantasy was not on his list of things to do in his life. He'd thought about it before when the fanart started pouring in. He'd jerked off to the idea a few times but this had been a detailed, heady recreation that he wouldn't forget for a long time.

 

How the hell was he going to look Ryan in the eye once he got back to the office?

 

Ray flopped over onto his stomach and tugged his blanket up over his head. “That's it. No more _Skyrim_ before bed.”

 

* * *

 

**SUPER fucking proud of this one. 10/10, will write again.**


	35. Geoff, Michael, and Gavin III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Geoff and Gavin make a mistake. But did they really?

It was becoming a regular occurrence to have the three of them staying up late, bevving up, enjoying themselves together. Geoff would make them dinner and the Omegas would bicker about what game to play and they always ended up drunker than they realized and fumbling through games way too complicated for their muddled brains to comprehend.

 

And this night in particular they'd dipped into some harder liquor and now they were dull sensed and tapping viciously at their controllers. Geoff's nose had turned that cute shade of red, Gavin's noises were higher pitched than normal, and Michael's hair was a complete mess from raking his fingers through it every time he lost. They'd been getting more and more affectionate as the hours went by. Hands shoved shoulders but lingered, the couple taking long kisses behind Gavin's head from his spot between them, and fingers strayed into hair and along the backs of necks.

 

They really should have seen it coming.

 

Michael angrily tossed down his controller. “I need more beer. I'm not fucking drunk enough for this. What's it fucking called again?”

 

“ _Ninja Gaiden Black_ ,” Geoff recited without slurring.

 

The Omega waved his hands through the air as if to bat the words away before he got to his feet. He asked if they wanted anything but he got shook heads in answer. He rummaged around in the fridge for a little bit, debating between eating something or not and settling on just grabbing the new six pack in the back. It was only one, they could horse around for at least two more hours and Geoff liked to drink like a fish.

 

Michael hauled his find back into the living room. It took some heavy blinking and much too long before he understood exactly what he was seeing. The only thing he could do was gape and let a bolt of pure lust turn his heart into a fluttering mess.

 

Gavin was in Geoff's lap, their controllers abandoned on the floor. He looked like he'd just swung his leg over the Alpha's lap and took his mouth, both hands cupping the older man's jaw. It was one of those deep, filthy kisses that always promised more. Gavin looked beautiful perched on the Alpha's lap, mouth so obediently opened to let the man taste him. It was actually kind of fucking hot. He was all about it until Geoff gave a hard grunt and grabbed the Omega's hips to drag him closer.

 

Then he remembered that Geoff was _his fucking Alpha._

 

Michael's near-feral growl caught their attention well enough. They turned to look at him like children who'd been caught stealing. Gavin scramble off of the Alpha's lap and fell onto the carpet with a thump, one of the controller's digging painfully into his ribs. Geoff wiped off his mouth with the back of his hand as apologies started pouring out of it. They both stood but it was Gavin who rushed forward, falling to his knees in front of his friend and grabbing him around the waist.

 

“I'm 'soory, Michael!” Gavin gushed, clinging tight enough to rock the Jersey boy on his feet. “It's my fault! Don't be mad at him, please, I made him. I-I shouldn't 'ave. Please don't hate me. He smelled so good, like you, and I couldn't help myself. Please, Michael, please.”

 

Michael was ready to kick him in the nuts and be done with it when he felt the Omega start to nuzzle above his belt. He laid a hand on the back of Gavin's head and he gave the smallest little sigh, almost a submission. The Brit's pushed at his shirt until he found skin, lips surprising him by kissing the flesh. It was worshipful, sweet.

 

Geoff started toward him. “Michael, I can explain. Well, I can't explain, there's no excuse. We were just messing around...I shouldn't have...we shouldn't have. _Shit_ , Michael.”

 

Geoff stopped when his boyfriend held up a hand, the simple motion catching his feet in the carpet. Michael's mind whirred before it settled on a decision, a decision he made a long time ago. He fisted the hand in Gavin's hair and dragged him to his feet, forcing him across the floor until he could throw him up against the wall.

 

“Don't hit me again, Michael,” Gavin slurred, hand coming up to block his face. “I'll do anything! I-I'm 'soory.”

 

Michael put a hand around his throat but he didn't clamp down like he could have. He moved in tight, jamming a thigh between the Brit's thighs and forcing them apart. Gavin was about to ask him what was going on but Michael slanted his lips across his, effectively shutting him up. The kiss was hard, unforgiving, but the other Omega moaned for more. Gavin opened up like he had for Geoff, letting his friend taste every inch of his mouth and use his throat as an anchor to keep him against the wall.

 

Michael rutted up against him, cock twitching when he felt an answering hardness push against his knee. He bit down on his lower lip and marveled at how the flesh yielded under his teeth and how the Omega whined like he wanted more. He wanted to stay there pinning down the warm, squirming body and licking the taste of beer off his teeth, breathing in the damn fresh-cut-flower scent and maybe rub it into his hair like shampoo. He'd thought about doing it for so long that now he didn't want to let go.

 

“There,” he rasped, ripping his mouth away with more effort than he thought he had, “Now we're even.”

 

“Michael?”

 

Michael pushed himself away with a huff and went to the stairs, climbing them as quickly as his heavy feet could take him. “I'm going to bed, assholes. And I'm sleeping in the guest room. Anyone who wakes me up gets a fucking foot in the dick.”

 

o0o

 

Michael left early the next morning while the others slept the dreamless sleep of the heavily intoxicated. Though the moment they woke they flooded the Omega with calls and texts, begging to speak to him and groveling as they'd never groveled before.

 

And when work came on Monday they were all in for a surprise.

 

“Michael,” Geoff breathed in relief when he saw the Omega alone in the office sitting at his desk eating a doughnut, looking bright and awake hugged in a yellow t-shirt that clung to his stomach and arms like it was made for him. He turned in his chair and gave a half-smile, little spurts of shorn curls peeking out from beneath the green beanie the Alpha had bought him. He looked gorgeous and amazing and so _calm_. Geoff dropped to his knees in front of him, taking his hand and kissing along his knuckles.

 

“I was so worried,” he confessed in, gladly breathing in his boyfriend's scent for the first time in over twenty four hours. “I don't care if you don't want anything to do with me...” _It made me sick to think you'd left because I fucked up._

 

Michael smiled so sweetly that it broke his heart all over again. He leaned down and pecked a sugary kiss on his lips. “I bought doughnuts. They're your favorite.”

 

Geoff gaped at him like he'd grown a second head. “What?”

 

“I thought you'd be hungry,” Michael replied simply, tucking a finger under his Alpha's chin and clicking it shut before brushing another kiss across his lips. “There's two on your desk with some coffee. It's a peace offering.”

 

Geoff brushed off his surprise. “I should be giving that to you. What I did-”

 

“Doesn't matter,” Michael waved it off with a flourish. “We're not going to talk about it. We were way too fucking drunk and none of it matters.”

 

Geoff slowly got to his feet and watched his Omega casually sit back and chew at his pastry. “You're...not angry?”

 

Michael shrugged. “I'm always angry. That's my secret.”

 

“I kissed Gavin,” Geoff reminded him, glancing back to make sure no one was lurking by the door. “ _You_ kissed him. This is something we should talk about. He's torn up about it.”

 

Michael shot to his feet, curling a finger in the Alpha's collar and pulling him in. “Good. Let him fucking remember how bad this hurts. Then he won't do it again on us.”

 

His Omega skimmed by him with a smile that made heat shoot through him as well as apprehension about what was to come. _On 'us'? What the hell does that mean?_

 

“You're a fucking shit, you know that?!”

 

o0o

 

Michael didn't speak a word to Gavin for a week. His heart was torn to pieces but he hid it behind an icy mask. It took him a few days to realize he wasn't angry at his Alpha and his best friend for kissing – he was angry because he hadn't been there. They'd done it behind his back like they thought it was something that needed to be hidden.

 

He spent one morning simply staring at the ceiling imagining how it should've gone. He would have put Geoff against the arm of the couch and wiggled Gavin into his lap. He would have slid up behind him and coaxed their mouths together while whispering filth into the other Omega's ear until he turned every shade of red. He could have taken off Gavin's shirt and they would've played with him, made a real night of it.

 

But Michael kept going over to Geoff's and hanging out, even falling back into bed with his Alpha after a few days. It was wonderful, as always, and it only strengthened his choice.

 

o0o

 

Gavin slunk around the house and the office like he was in everyone's way. He kept an iron grip on his tongue and did everything he could to keep anything from upsetting Michael at work. At home he was a shadow and it worried Geoff a great deal but chose to focus his energy on his Omega and let the two work it out for themselves.

 

One week after the drunk ordeal the couple had a movie night. _Gamers: Dorkness Rising._

 

They were snuggled up under a heavy blanket with full bellies, comfortable and warm. Michael had his head on his Alpha's shoulder. The movie was funny enough to keep them awake but they were quiet and drowsy from the long day at work. They'd gone in on a weekend to get catch up on a backlog of editing and they were ready for a long, well-deserved sleep.

 

Geoff was dropping little kisses in his Omega's hair when they both heard the creak of floorboards. Michael sat up and watched Gavin try to tip-toe into the kitchen, the door to the fridge opening carefully so he could pull out a Coke. He was about to sneak back to his room when he called his name. “Gavin?”

 

“Michael?” Gavin echoed, too scared to say more.

 

“Come watch with us,” he insisted, patting the back of the couch.

 

“I...I don't think I should,” he replied honestly, looking at the couple with barely disguised longing.

 

“Bullshit,” Michael spat, “Get over here.”

 

Gavin padded over to the couch and the weight that had been on his heart for the past several days ease. He would sit with them and it'd be just like before. But then Michael held up the blanket and told him to hurry the fuck up and get in. His confusion must have shown on his face because the other Omega rolled his eyes in exasperation. “You're pissing me off with that beaten dog look. Get in here.”

 

Gavin made a startled noise when his wrist was grabbed and he was dragged down onto the couch, an arm slung around his shoulder to pull him close. The blanket was thrown over his legs and the intoxicating scent of the couple billowed up around him. Cherry Coke and fresh lemon wood polish. He could taste it on his tongue as clear as anything. _Alpha_. _Omega_.

 

Michael scooted closer to Geoff and dragged his best friend with him until they were as tightly pressed as they could be beneath the blanket. The Alpha's hand settled at the back of his head and stroked through the strands. He purred and curled himself around Michael, tangling their legs and arms so thoroughly that he was sure he'd smell like the other Omega for days.

 

_Alpha. Omega. Home._

 

 


	36. Ray Presents - Part Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ray finally comes back to the office.

Ray came back to the office and it was like stepping into a whole new world. His nose hurt after just walking through the lobby. Everyone had their own distinctive scent, which was amazing, but they all wore it so strongly. Geoff had warned him of it through text earlier that morning and he'd promised he'd get used to it. But what his boss hadn't told him was how many eyes would be on him. Noses turned as he'd walked, just how he'd seen them do for Michael and Gavin. There was a light, nervous titter at the base of his heart and wasn't sure if it was anxiety or excitement. He was walking on clouds made of eggshells. It was a mixed bag but he'd spent the past few days making peace with it. If he was an Omega, he was an Omega. _Lucky me._

 

Joel and Chris were coming up the hall and he was struck by an idea. Lindsay had a trick that she liked to giggle about that he'd never really understood until now. His friends were walking side by side but they started to split as they approached him, intending to go around. Ray unzipped his jacket and flicked open the sides, shaking out the material as casually as he could when they passed. His scent hit the Alphas and he felt them turn and look. There was a _thunk_ and when he looked over his shoulder he saw that Chris had fallen over a tool box that had been left propped against the wall. No small amount of pride welled up in him and he couldn't have stopped the grin that curled his lips if he tried. He covered it up as best he could and laughed to himself.

 

He was so busy marveling at the reaction that he missed Burnie as he passed, the Alpha sniffing after him with a sudden heat in his eyes.

 

Ray got to the office and kicked the door open, startling everyone inside. “ _Boom_ , baby!”

 

The room was dead silent for maybe two seconds before it filled with uproarious applause. He took a few deep bows and thanked his _adoring public_.

 

“Look at you!” Geoff shook his head. “You're a fucking adult. Shit, kid, you look great.”

 

“Bloody hell, Ray, you grew a bit, didn't you?” Gavin goggled, he and Michael dancing around him poking and prodding. Palms skimmed across his back and down his waist. “Look at your shoulders. And your hips!”

 

Michael's fingers dug into his scalp. “Jesus, feel his fucking hair.”

 

Ray squirmed under their inspection but it wasn't anything he hadn't scrutinized in the mirror. He had filled out in some places and his hair was thicker and softer than before. It was to be expected but he was mortified when he realized he'd started to plump up around his hips and legs like a girl. “Make way for thunder thighs, you guys.”

 

“Nah.” Michael swatted his thigh with a smirk. “You look great.”

 

The other two Omegas crowded in and started to nuzzle either side of his neck, noses grazing across the scent glands that were just under his skin. He breathed them both in and smiled when his instincts told him they were to trust. _Pack_. “I can't fucking believe it, Michael. You actually smell like Coke. That's is ridiculous.”

 

“I know, right?”

 

“Oh my fucking God, Gavin, you smell like a stick of deodorant.”

 

“I do not!” the Brit squawked indignantly, punching his arm. Ray laughed and queued up a witty comeback but his nose caught onto something way more interesting. He felt a bit like a dog following his nose and sniffing his way across the room. Geoff laughed at him but he didn't care. He found the source – a scarf on the shelf. He put it to his nose and inhaled. It was delicious, satisfying beyond words.

 

“This is amazing,” he moaned, taking in another great breath before turning to his friends. “Who's is this? Who smells like this?”

 

Geoff was grinning like an idiot and he looked way too smug. “Ryan wore that for _RT Life_ earlier.”

 

Ray felt himself blushing and was not for the first time glad to have tan skin. Then said Alpha walked in and even Jack couldn't stop himself from breaking down into maniacle laughter. Ryan looked at all cackling friends and smiled lightly, unsure of what they were going on about but glad they'd found some mirth. Ray, still red and embarassed, just simpered because he didn't know what else to do. _I am so fucked._

 

“What's so funny?” Ryan asked.

 

“It's just real fucking good to have our friend back,” Michael said with an equally shit-eating grin, thumbing at the new Omega. “He looks real nice, right?”

 

Ryan finally looked at him straight on and it took him back to their first little date night, ice cutting him right down to his very core. “He looks great.”

 

“Pretty, right?” Gavin cooed as he laced his fingers over the Alpha's shoulder and resting his cheek upon them, exaggeratedly batting his lashes. “ 'Course, he was pretty before. But now he's a lot more...much-ier, right?”

 

“Yeah, you lunatic,” Ryan snapped him in a headlock so fast he barely had time to yelp before he was noogied and released. “It _is_ good to have you back. How do you feel?”

 

“Alive. Apart of something.”  


 

The brutal truth of the answer killed their snickering dead.

 

“Thanks for ruining that, asshole,” Michael muttered.

 

“So!” Geoff clapped his hands to snap back their attention, an excited glimmer in his eyes, “You're totally going to have a party right?”

 

“What? Why?”

 

“A coming-of-status party, duh.”  


 

“That is the dumbest name in history,” he deflected.

 

“Oh come on, Ray, please,” Geoff begged shamelessly. “I'm getting really good at them. It'll just be people from work and we'll make tons of food and _gifts_! You love gifts! Everyone will bring you something and you'll get praise showered upon your Omega flower or whatever the fuck they write about in puberty poetry. Whatta' you say? I'll take care of everything.”

 

Ray's first impulse was to say no but the others looked excited for him, like it really would be a great thing to pack all their co-workers into Geoff's house and fill them with beer and make them acknowledge that he was apparently an adult now. The very notion made his stomach churn sourly but he smiled and nodded.

 

Geoff whooped loudly. “Gonna fucking party-hardy as dicks!”

 

“One thing.”  


 

“Shoot.”  


 

“If you ever refer to any of my _anything_ as an 'Omega flower' again, I'm going punch so hard in the balls _Michael_ will feel it.”

 

“Done, and done.”

 

o0o

 

A couple hours later Ryan was setting up his temporary desk in the office. Ray stood beside him, chatting, devouring one of the thousand bananas they were required to eat for the next _Immersion_. He was about to tell him about the earlier trick with the Alphas when the man straightened up, glasses shining and mouth set in a firm line.

 

“You know you don't have to go through with the party if you don't want to,” Ryan stated, sounding as if he'd stop it himself if he asked. “I know there's a certain amount of pressure to have it but it doesn't seem like your kind of thing.”

 

“It'll be great!” Ray laughed easily, elbowing him playfully. “Who doesn't love a party? And I'm going to get tons of cool gifts. People love Brownman.”

 

He sat on the arm of the couch and kept his head down as he reached out and snagged the end of Ryan's sleeve. He gently tugged the Alpha closer, keeping his voice low. “But...you'll be there, won't you? You'll come?”

 

“Of course I will,” Ryan promised, remembering another promise he made to tell the boy exactly what his scent was like. He didn't want to dwell on it now, not at work. He let the Omega fiddle with the hem of his shirt for a few moments. “I actually already got you a gift. It's something small but I think you'll like it.”

 

Ray raised his head and practically beamed at him. “You did? Shit, Rye-bread, you didn't have to get me anything.”

 

“Yes I did.”

 

“No you didn't,” he insisted. “It'll just be...cool to have you there, you know? You won't go very far?”

 

Ryan stepped toward him, the Omega's fingers still tangled in his sleeve. “I'll stay as close as you want.”

 

Ray smiled shyly, tugging harder until he could almost brush his nose along the Alpha's arm. “This is a nice distance.”

 

Ryan felt warm all over and he smiled. _Really_ smiled.

 

 _I better be careful or I'm really going to make a fool of myself,_ the Alpha thought, but then Ray headbutted his arm with a little glance up at him through his lashes. _Too late._

 


	37. Geoff, Michael, and Gavin IIII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Burnie pushes Gavin to his limits.

**_TRIGGER WARNING_ here. Check the tags. Very non-con oral sex going on. Very aggressive language. I know it's not for some so I wanted to warn you now. THIS is the most non-con it's going to get. Like, this is the serious piece. The stuff with Ray later on is very mild.**   
  
**Not into that? I would very much recommend reading down to the second scene and then skipping until you see Ryan appear. After that it's just Gav-angst.**

* * *

 

 

Gavin tried to Skype with Dan as often as he could. He was his best mate since childhood and the only other Alpha that had been there for him besides Geoff. When they’d ended their romantic relationship it had been on the best of terms and they’d really only grown closer from it. His friend was busy with his military training but he tried to carve out some time for them to talk and see each other’s faces. But there was one question he always asked, either at the beginning or at the end.

 

“Any American suitors yet?”

 

And it was always said with a glint in his eye and a cocky smirk on his lips. But his answer was always the same. And always a lie.

 

“No one’s biting yet, B.”

 

“Ah. You’ll catch one eventually. Fun kid like you.”

 

But then Dan stopped believing him.

 

“Is someone bothering you?” Dan asked one night, leaning in closer to the screen and giving him a hard look that made him uneasy. Gavin fiddled with his hands and tried to think of an excuse but it was hard when the issue had been eating at him for quite some time. It was something he couldn’t tell Geoff or Michael, not even Ray.

 

“Yeah,” he admitted lowly, mindful of the Alpha in his house who lacked boundaries. He could walk in any minute and Gavin couldn’t let him find out.

 

“Is it fucking Geoff?” Dan snarled, accent thick on the Alpha’s name. “I knew it. You’re practically in love with ‘im. I knew he’d take advantage. Doesn’t he have an Omega? Tell him if he puts one hand on you, I’ll come over there and-”

 

“Dan!” Gavin shouted, cutting his friend off so quickly his jaw audibly snapped shut. “It’s not Geoff so shut your fat gob before he hears you. My…relationship with Geoff and Michael is weird enough without you accusing him of some shit.”

 

Thoroughly chastised, Dan sat back from the screen enough to reveal the wall of his bunk. “So who is it?”

 

“My boss.”

 

His friend’s face fell. “Jesus fucking Christ, Gav, what are you doing over there? You should’ve stayed at home. Those fucking American Alphas have no respect for Omegas. I see it with the imports all the time. You need to report him.”

 

“To who?” Gavin spat, “Matt? He’s a Beta, he doesn’t get it. None of them ever do. If I tell Geoff he’ll lose his shit. And if I tell Michael, he’ll…well, I’m not real sure what he’d do, but it wouldn’t be good for anyone. And if I say anything I’m just some dumb bird who doesn’t know how to handle himself.”

 

“ _Are you_?” Dan shot back accusingly, “Are you handling yourself?”

 

Gavin’s lips moved soundlessly before he slumped. “No, not particularly.”

 

“I’m flying over there for a visit soon, I hope you know that. And when I get there I’m going to resolve this.”

 

The firm, Alpha tone made Gavin smile. Dan always had been rather protective of him, ever since they were boys. “You’re not my bloody Alpha, you dolt.”

 

“So? You’re my best mate. You think I’m going to let some ruddy knothead roll you over just because you like your job? Fuck that.”

 

“Now you sound like Michael.”

 

“Let’s not talk about your bloody _Mi-cool_ again. He must be made of gold the way you fawn all over him.”

 

“I do not!”

 

“Do too!”

 

“I do _not_!”

 

The two friends dissolved into a fit of laughter hundreds of miles apart.

 

o0o0o0o

 

It had started innocently enough, as most things do.

 

Burnie started making comments on how he looked every other day. Saying how soft his hair looked or how good the colors of his shirt matched his eyes – little things that made him feel good about himself. Then the comments turned more lewd and they only came when the two of them were alone. He brushed it off at first but then came the confrontation with Michael and Burnie in the break room.

 

He had no idea what he was getting into.

 

o0o

 

Gavin leaned over the podcast table, elbows on the surface and back to the wall. Everyone was busy running around trying to get everything set up and there was nothing for him to do so he busied himself with a round of Fruit Ninja. He’d been told this morning that they were going to be doing something similar for _Immersion_ and decided to do a bit of training.

 

He smelled him before he saw him. Burnie used to smell like the good wine Kara would bring to dinner when she knew Geoff would be grilling steaks. But ever since his wife left and he’d come back it had soured. His nose crinkled up as the man came up beside him, hand falling on the low curve of his back.

 

“Hey, Gavin,” he greeted smoothly.

  
He nodded. “Burnie. Where’s Gus and Joel? Aren’t they on this podcast too?”

 

“We’re a little early. They’ll get here eventually.” The man hand started to slide down until they cupped the curve of his ass. “You look good today.”

 

Gavin went to straighten up but the Alpha hooked his other hand on his shoulder and forced him back down, elbows braced harder on the table with the extra weight pinning him. “Piss off, mate.”

 

“Why don’t you be a good little Omega and stay bent over for me? You can show off better that way.”

 

“I’m not bloody showing off, I’m just waiting.” Gavin shut his mouth to keep himself from shouting when those daring fingers trailed down further. They were dangerously close to much more sensitive areas. He wished he’d worn denim instead because his khakis weren’t giving him any protection.

 

“Shh,” Burnie hushed, “You don’t want anyone else to see how easy you are, do you?”

 

“I-I’m not,” Gavin protested but it was weak. His voice gave out completely when the Alpha’s fingers pressed down on the yielding material, hooking hard enough to brush against his hole. The contact sent an unpleasant jolt through him but he couldn’t move without turning everyone’s attention toward them. No one could see what Burnie was doing. No one was going to help him.

 

“Are you sure?” his boss hissed right in his ear. The touch increased, moving, pressing right down on the tender flesh of his perineum. His cock twitched, threatening to harden. That had been Dan’s favorite spot to play with when they’d been together and the bittersweet memory brought bile to the back of his throat.

 

“I bet you’re wet right now in front of all these people.”

 

“S-Stop it.”

 

“Hey guys!” Joel practically bounced on set, holding up the bottles of beer he’d taken out of the fridge. “Got one for each of you. Ready to do this thing?”

 

Gus, who was dragging his feet behind the man, took a look at his friends. “Something up, guys?”

 

Burnie pulled away with an easy grin and took a beer from Joel, twisting off the top. “Nothing much, just waiting on you slackers.”

 

Flushed and sick to his stomach, Gavin managed to nod. “Yeah. Top. Ready to go when you are.”

 

o0o

 

It didn’t stop there. Burnie started taking every opportunity he could to get up close and personal with the Omega, stealing touches where no one could see and pouring filth into his ear until he started to actually feel like the slut he was called. He mentioned something to Matt about sexual harassment but the Beta blew him off, telling him to solve it himself because he was too busy to _deal with this shit right now, Gavin._

 

Gavin knew he should’ve been fighting him off harder but he didn’t want to cause a scene. He was a grown man and he could deal with it. Eventually Burnie would get bored of him and move on to the next Omega. He wasn’t anything special to look at, he knew that, so there was no reason for his boss’s superficial interest to linger more than a week or two.

 

But Geoff noticed first.

 

They were doing a _Let’s Build_ when he decided to mention it.

 

“So Burnie’s taken a pretty big interest in you lately.”

 

Gavin sighed around a mouthful of beer. “It’s not a big deal. Just a flavor-of-the-week kinda thing. There’s better fish out there for him.”

 

“You sound like Ray,” Geoff griped. “I hate to break it to you, Gavvers, but you’re fucking cute, alright? And you know how Burnie’s been lately.”

 

“It’s nothing.”

 

“You know if he tries anything you don’t want, I’ll gank him, right?”

 

“I know.”

 

Geoff gave him a side-long glance. “So you’re okay with this?”

 

“At least an Alpha’s giving me some bloody attention,” he complained, taking another slug of beer to try and drown out the little voice of his conscious that was begging to tell Geoff everything.

 

“Plenty of Alphas notice you, Gav. And Beta girls fucking love you for some reason.”

 

“I don’t want them, alright?” Gavin bitched, mashing the buttons on his controller so hard his thumb ached. _I want you._

 

“Gavin-”

 

“If you don’t leave it alone I’m going to bed.”

 

“Fine,” Geoff surrendered. “But you know you can talk to me or Michael about anything. Michael knows better than me what it’s like to be on the other end of Burnie’s temper and he’d shred him alive for hurting you.”

 

“I get it.” _Then what would happen to you two? We can’t be all out of a job._ “You listen to Michael when he says he doesn’t want to talk about stuff.”

 

“Fair,” Geoff agreed. There was a few awkward minutes before he could think of something to say. “So, you’d get one million dollars, but…”

 

o0o

 

The day had started off so normal.

 

“Don’t do it,” Michael warned, eyes widening behind his glasses when the other Omega popped the gel pen in his mouth. “Don’t you fucking chew on – _God damn it, Gavin!_ ”

 

Blue ink sputtered everywhere when Gavin heaved out a laugh. The cartridge had split under his teeth and flooded his mouth with a shade of blue that Jack had described as ‘sapphire’ only a few moments before. Geoff cringed and made a grab for all the equipment in front of the Omega while somehow managing to kick him aside. “Go rinse your mouth out before you die!”

 

Michael was howling with laughter as he left, screaming about what an idiot he was. Gavin tried not to lose himself in giggles as he kept a hand over his mouth. The ink was bitter and all over his tongue but the sound of Michael really losing himself in laughter had made the whole thing worth it. The bathroom near the kitchen was occupied and hated using the multi-stalled one so he headed upstairs. It was so quiet up there. Barbara caught his eye and called to him but waved him off when he gave her a blue-stained grin.

 

The bathroom was large but it was a single. He went in and ran hot water from the tap, cupping it in his palm and trying to rinse out the ink. The water flowed blue for a minute, lighter, and finally the taste started to leave. He raked his nails over his taste buds to try and uproot the bitter flavor. He rubbed and rubbed but there was still a faint stain on his lips, seeping deep into whatever lines it had found.

 

The door creaked open and shut with a _click_ of the lock. He looked up into the mirror to see Burnie standing in front of the door, looking him over without an ounce of shame. “Whatcha' doing, Gavvers?”

 

“I, uh, bit down on a pen,” Gavin explained, wiggling his stained fingers. “That's all.”

 

Burnie came closer and a sense of dread started to build in his gut. He went back to scrubbing out his mouth, movements more erratic as he tried to force himself to act normal. If he just pretended like everything was fine then it would be. There was no way the Alpha would try anything at work. He was being paranoid. Burnie was just trying to scare him or-

 

“Here's what's going to happen,” Burnie spoke softly, deliberately, as his hands settled on either side of the younger man. Gavin trembled and the Omega in him begged to submit, to just crumple and let the other do whatever he wanted and get it over with. The inevitably of it all made him drop his eyes and hunch in on himself protectively. “You're going to be really quiet so no one out there hears you. It wouldn't be good to let the entire office now what a whore you can be. You're going to be a good Omega and make your Alpha happy.”

 

The harsh words felt like a smack to the face. “Y-You're not...”

 

“I found you, I gave you a job, and I like the way you look.” He glanced up long enough to see the Alpha was smirking. “That makes you mine. And it's not like you have Alphas lining down the block asking for your hand. This isn't a fairytale, Gav. You need to take what's given to you.”

 

A kiss was pressed into his shoulder. “And I can give it to you.”

 

Gavin turned, elbowing the other in the chest to try and put some space between them. Burnie grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him away from the sink, the words _stop it_ were hissed out as he was manhandled to the wall and smacked against it.

 

“Quit,” Burnie ordered, teeth flashing as he smacked away the Omega's flailing hands and slammed a forearm on his chest to keep him still. “I don't think you understand what's going on here.”

 

Gavin tried to shove it off but the Alpha was stronger than him. “I know you're being a prick.”

 

Burnie sighed and leaned in like he was going to kiss him but the Omega turned his head away, pressing it far as it would go against the wall. He expected to get smacked or something but the gentle fingers on his jaw were so much worse. “Gavin, kid...”

 

 _God, he sounds so much like he used to._ Back before the bond-break when they were good friends and there was nothing between them but laughter. He missed those days. The Alpha forced him to turn his head with a slow, constant pressure until he was looking into the dark depths of his eyes again. There was nothing in them but that wild, Alpha desire that had driven him to burn through every Omega in the office.

 

“I'm kind of completely in charge of you,” he pointed out, fingertips tapping impatiently along the steep line of the Brit's jaw. “That means I'm in charge of your job. Wouldn't it be a shame to have to go back to England with your tail between your legs? No more Geoff...no more cozy Achievement Hunter...” Burnie's lips found their way to his smooth cheek and it felt like a bee sting, goosebumps flooding his neck. “No more _Mi-coo_.”

 

The mocking coo made him cringe.

 

“Your _lovely little boy_ ,” Burnie butchered his accent, needling himself straight into the boy’s insecurity, “What are you gonna’ do without him, Gavvers?”

 

Gavin swallowed his pride and asked the one question he didn’t want to know the answer to. “What do you want?”

 

“Like I said before, I want you to be a good Omega for me,” Burnie replied, reaching down and thumbing open the button of his jeans. “And good Omegas relieve their Alphas stress. So why don’t you stop acting like I’m trying to rape you and get down on your knees, hm?”

 

Gavin’s entire chest felt like it was trembling, adrenaline and horror racing through his veins so quick he felt a little lightheaded. “Burnie, _please_.”

 

The older man tisked dismissively. “I'm just asking you to do your duty to your Alpha. What is so wrong with that?”

 

“G-Geoff's my Alpha.”

 

He barely managed to stutter out the protest before the Alpha barked a laughed in his face. “No he's not. You know it, I know it, the whole office knows it. He belongs to Michael and that little spitfire is not sharing with _you_ of all people. And even if he would...have you looked in the mirror lately, sweetheart? Michael's fucking stunning. If Geoff's looking for a second, which I highly doubt, he'd go for some sweet little piece of ass like Ray. So don't give me that proxy-Alpha crap.”

 

Gavin felt his armor crack away with each word. He knew all that. He knew Michael was bloody gorgeous and had a normal sized nose and majestic fucking curls even after they were cut off. He knew Ray was the most desirable Omega right now – his X-Ray smelled like Heaven in a bottle and he was really shy and Alphas loved a challenge and _he fucking got it already_. It hurt to see the other Alphas in the office trip over themselves to open doors for his best mate even though he scowled and told them to fuck off and was so clearly taken. It hurt to watch Joel and Miles try to court Ray when no one had even asked him on a bloody date since he came to America. And it really fucking hurt to see Michael cuddle up with Geoff in his chair even though it was too small for the two of them and to watch Ray sneak off to hang out with Ryan at his desk. No one even gave him a second glance with his two friends around and there was only so much a boy could stand before he started taking it personally.

 

He was alone, and he'd never felt it more until now.

 

“I know you’ve thought about it before, Gav.” Burnie let go of his face in favor of rubbing his thumb over a patch of skin on his neck, teasing the scent gland he knew laid just beneath it. “You used to hang on me all the time. Back when Geoff wouldn’t touch you ‘cause you were too young. But you would latch onto me and rub your nose just _here_.” He pressed harder, forcing a little flush of hormones that made the Alpha salivate. “You were scenting me like a needy bitch. You wanted me to fuck you long before Dan got to.”

 

“You were _married_ ,” his voice finally cracked, unable to deny what he’d done all those years ago. “I just wanted attention! Jesus, Burnie, you were good to me and I was barely twenty, I didn’t know what I was doing. I thought it was harmless!”

 

A hand clamped over his mouth, nails pricking into his skin. “Are you going to keep yelling or are you going to make me happy? Because what I’m asking you to do is so very little compared to getting you fired.”

 

Gavin paled, reaching up and peeling away the Alpha’s fingers to gasp, “You wouldn’t.”

  
“One conversation with Matt and you’re gone, Gavvers.” Burnie’s mouth pulled down in mock-sympathy as he tugged down his pants to show the distinctive bulge in his underwear. “And wouldn’t that be a shame?”

 

He pursed his lips, throwing his chin up. “Geoff won’t let you.”

 

“Geoff isn’t your Alpha so stop thinking he’s going to protect you,” Burnie growled out, dropping a heavy hand on his shoulder and pressing down. “He’s got pretty, feisty Michael and he doesn’t need some whimpering little shit tagging along behind him. Now… _get down._ ”

 

He braced his weight on the wall with one hand and found it oh-too-easy to slide down on his knees. The tile was cold through his jeans but the heat coming off the Alpha was the last thing he wanted. He didn’t know what to do. The simple choice was just to give his boss whatever he wanted and pray it was enough. He loved his job with everything he had. Not seeing Michael and Geoff everyday…he didn’t know if his heart could take it. He’d nearly mucked everything up stealing a kiss from Geoff and they were so _good_ now. He couldn’t leave them. If he didn’t have this job he’d have to move back, there was no getting around it. He didn’t have any real skill besides his camera and it was nearly impossible to break into the fucking cliquey American crowd.

 

And Burnie was right – he had clung onto him a lot when he was younger. His boss had been attractive and nice and funny, he’d bought him lunch and stayed with in hotel rooms. He’d cared about him. What was…what was one more thing? What was this compared to having his job threatened? He’d blown guys in loo cubicles before. This wasn’t any different.

 

At least that’s what he told himself when he reached up and tugged down the last layer of clothing between them.

 

“There’s a good boy,” Burnie breathed, eyes burning into the top of his head while he caught a fistful of his hair. “And make it good. We don't want anyone coming to look for you before you're done here, right?”

 

Gavin swallowed thickly and eyed the hard flesh in front of him. “N-No.”

Burnie's hand guided him closer and he tried not to make any noise. It looked like any other cock, nothing special. It wasn't as big as some of the other Alphas he'd seen but his gag reflex was atrocious. “Burnie, I can't...I...”

 

The man made an impatient noise above him and tugged his hair. “Jesus – again with this?”

 

Gavin yelped at the sudden pain. “N-No, I just can't...I can't deep-throat. My reflex is bad.”

 

The fingers only tightened, a few strands coming out of the roots. “Well you better find a way to make it work or I'm going to bend you over the sink.”

 

Gavin knew it had to be a threat. Burnie was all fucked up from his wife but he wouldn't hurt him like that. He wouldn't just fuck him in the second floor bathroom. But it struck some fear into his heart and he tried to nod as best he could, hands shaking as one grabbed the Alpha's hip and the other grabbed the base of his cock.

 

“Ah-ah-ah. Don't be fucking stupid.”

 

Gavin's blushed furiously as he took his hand back and gave it a wet lick, returning the touch only when he was sure the other would be satisfied. He hated that he looked up at his boss for approval. He was smirking like he'd trained a dog to perform an interesting trick.

 

“Good boy. No one wants a dry rub.”

 

He clenched his eyes shut and forced himself to imagine the situation as anything else.

 

_That Beta bloke at the night club he'd snuck off to with Lindsay. Sandy hair, dimples, but really calloused fingers._

 

He swiped his tongue along the wet tip, tracing the slit and the rim of the underside as Burnie stifled a moan.

 

_Dan. Bloody gorgeous Dan. Rough stubble, that dumb grin, eyes with those little flecks of gold in them. So patient, so understanding. He'd fuck him hoarse until he couldn't remember that he couldn't take his cock down his throat._

 

The head slid between his lips and the starchy taste made him wince but he kept going. There was a throb under his fingers, flesh already so hard and balls drawn up tight like he'd been ready for hours. Had he planned this? Had he been waiting for an opportunity to get him alone? His tongue was pressed down by the weight but he powered through the initial impulse to retch. He forced his mouth open wider, jaw aching in complaint but it was ignored.

 

_Geoff? God, Geoff would feel good. He'd let him tease and stroke and lick him for hours. He'd pet through his hair, call him a good boy, let him set the pace. Maybe Geoff would just play Xbox and let him keep his cock warm._

 

The head grazed along his palette and he forced himself not to think about it, fingers pumping what he hadn't tried to take. Even past the cloud of denial and guilt and overwhelming shame he couldn't help but notice the Alphas knot hadn't swelled though he looked aroused enough for it. He'd only had something like that happen a few times before with Dan and it was always when he was really drunk or when he had to take antibiotics. He pressed down, looking for the tell-tale firm swell, but there was nothing. He couldn't pop a fucking knot.

 

There really was something wrong with Burnie.

 

All his concern flew out the window when the Alpha decided he'd had enough foreplay and shoved him down the length of his cock. Gavin choked hard and tried to pull back but he only got another thrust as punishment. His throat convulsed and a few tears forced their way past his lashes as he tried desperately to adjust to the pressure. It wasn't like Burnie was that impressive but the ruthless grinding left him heaving for air and his hands fluttering wildly along the man's legs as if to push him away. There were horribly pleased sounds above his head but he could barely hear them past the steady stream of pleading in his own head.

 

 The last few thrusts were deeper than the rest and he gagged hard as the first spurt stained his throat. It tasted vile and his stomach threatened to empty itself all over the Alpha's shoes. Burnie mercifully pulled out, saliva and cum falling over his lips. He sucked in as much air as he could, eyes still closed while more purposefully graze his cheeks. A dry sobbed filled the room as he dropped his head, feeling more humiliated than he ever had before in his life. On sore knees in a bathroom in the office where he worked, the evidence of his boss's pleasure on his skin, said boss panting above him like he'd won. Which he had.

 

“That wasn't too bad for someone who said they couldn't suck dick,” Burnie taunted breathlessly, quick to tuck himself away and zip up. “Not as good as I expected but we'll work on that, won't we sweetheart?”

 

Gavin pressed the back of his hand to his mouth, barely keeping himself from retching when he felt the man's cum smear on his skin. He got a pat on the head before the Alpha unlocked the door and left. Though he was afraid to throw up he still got to his feet and staggered to the sink. He ran the water hot and ripped several thick paper towels out of the dispenser. He soaked them before scrubbing his face, vomit threatening to come up any moment as he slowly realized he could still feel and smell the Alpha on him. His skin turned pink, then red, but it still felt like it was there. He couldn't take it anymore. He stepped to the toilet, shoved a finger down his throat, and emptied his lunch and the evidence of what he'd done into the bowl. His stomach seized long after it was all gone and he spent a few moments dry heaving before he got enough wits about him to flush it all away.

 

Gavin turned the other tap this time, letting icy cold water splash on his stinging lips and cheeks. He tried to look into the mirror but he couldn't. How could he look at himself after what he'd done? How could anyone? _At least it was quick. One-pump-chump, he is._

 

The door squeaked and he nearly ducked under the sink but it was just Ryan. His relief was short-lived when he realized the Alpha could probably smell everything. What if he'd seen Burnie leave?

 

Ryan held up a mini tube of toothpaste and a small toothbrush to match. “I found these in Monty's desk. That ink probably tastes awful, huh?”

 

Gavin stared down at his blue-tinged fingers and remembered why he'd gone in the bathroom in the first place. _Seems like a lifetime ago._ “Thanks, Rye. I, uh, couldn't keep it down. Nasty stuff.”

 

“Well they couldn't exactly make poisonous chemicals taste like chocolate, could they?” Ryan's smile faltered when he looked over the Omega. “Are you okay? You look like shit.”

 

Gavin turned and braced himself on the sink with a strained smile. “Aw, thanks, mate. You're lovely too.”

 

Ryan's nose twitched. “Jeez, you smell like...Gavin, you smell like you...”

 

He hurried into the Alpha's space and pushed him against the wall, trapping him from leaving. “Don't tell Geoff. God, Ryan, don't tell anyone.”

 

“You smell like Burnie,” he whispered, horror filling his eyes. “Did you two just...? Fuck, Gavin. You can't keep this from Geoff.”

 

“I have to,” the Brit pleaded tearfully, “And Michael. I can't let them know. I – I – ”

 

His thoughts tripped all over themselves until he went real still, mind slipping into the little negative space Burnie had made for him. He reached over and locked the door, looking straight into the Alpha's confused face. Maybe if he gave Ryan something he wouldn't tell. Some incentive. Like he'd given Burnie to keep his job. He was an Alpha, he wanted what they all wanted. He actually liked Ryan. It would be easy.

 

“You don't have to tell Geoff.” He was trembling all over from nerves and leftover adrenaline as he put a hand on the Alpha's belt and started to sink to his knees. “I-I'll let you have me too. You don't have to say anything. Rye, I'll...I'll be good. Just let me show you.”

 

Ryan's fingers twisted hard in his shirt and dragged him back up. The man's expression had darkened considerably and the room quickly filled with the sharp smell of anger. _Challenge._

 

“What did he do to you?” Ryan demanded, scrutinizing every inch of him now. “What the fuck did he make you do? Did he threaten to fire you? This is fucking sexual harassment, Gavin, you can't let him get away with this! You can't just-!”

 

The Omega threw himself into his arms and made a strangled sound, the act cutting straight through his anger. He quickly held the boy back, letting him scent into his neck while he carefully carded his fingers into his hair.

 

“Shh, Gav, I'm right here. It's alright. You don't have to do anything for me. I would never... _never_ treat you that way. Don't cry. _Please_ don't cry.”

 

“I'm not,” he lied, wrapping himself tight around the Alpha. Ryan always smelled so good. “I know it was bad...but I can't...he just...”

 

“Don't,” Ryan hushed, letting him get as close as he wanted. “I won't tell Geoff or anyone else if you don't want me to. I'm your friend, right?”

 

“Yeah,” Gavin muttered into his shirt.

 

“That means I'll keep your trust.” It hurt to say it but it was the truth. If the Omega didn't want him to report this behavior, he wouldn't. Especially not without solid proof of whatever the hell Burnie had forced him into. He wouldn't even know what to say to Geoff that wouldn't spark the Alpha into a violent flurry. “How about you brush your mouth out and I take you to lunch. My treat?”

 

Gavin nodded, body sagging.

 

“And then maybe you go home.”

 

“Please,” he whispered in relief.

 

“I'll drive you myself. I'll tell Geoff you're not feeling too hot.” He felt the Omega stiffen in his grip. “And nothing else.”

 

He could've cried. “Thanks, Ryan. You're...”

 

Ryan gave one of those small, meaningful smiles and gently scratched along the back of his neck. “I know. You're the best too.”

 

o0o0o0o

 

The shower couldn't get hot enough. He used half a bar of soap and almost all of his shampoo but he couldn't get the used feeling off his skin. He felt like the whore Burnie had called him. He couldn't turn his brain off and he started to wonder what everyone would say about him if they found out.

 

It was the thought of Michael's reaction that made him start drinking.

 

He tried to play video games but it didn't work as well as he hoped. He kept going back to how disappointed Geoff would be, how pathetic his friends would consider him, how angry his boy would be. What Dan would say. _Christ, he'll kill me._

 

And once he remembered trying to blow Ryan to keep the secret he started drinking faster, the beer bottles surrounding and closing him in like a small army.

 

After six or seven or eight ( _I can't remember_ ) he started crying. Ugly, loud, uncontrollable crying with fat tears that fell to soak his boxers. The sight of the welts he'd left on himself in the shower only made him sob harder. He'd embarrassed himself in front of Ryan so badly he wasn't sure the Alpha would ever respect him again. He certainly didn't.

 

He was a stupid slut. Every word Burnie had said was true. He didn't deserve to have Geoff as an Alpha. He was weak. Michael would have never let himself get into something like that.

 

 _They're all so smart and I'm so bloody stupid_ , he drained the rest of the bottle in his hand before he grabbed another, twisting off the top and putting the lip to his mouth. _I'm a fucking dumb and I should've let Burnie deport me. I fucked up everything with Dan over some stupid pipe dream that was over before it started and now I'm in love with Michael and Geoff and they've all got each other and I've got no one._

 

Gavin smothered his mournful wail into the crook of his arm.

 

He deserved to be alone. He was fucking pathetic.

 

_I never shoulda' come back._

 

“Gavin?!” The shout of his name was the only warning he got before his door was all but kicked in. Michael took one look at him – sitting there in just his boxers with a dozen beers circling him – and he felt like the Omega could see everything he'd done. It was branded into his skin. Everyone would see and know how filthy he was.

 

“I'm 'soory, Michael'.” The words slurred and blended into one, long whine. “ 'M so 'soory, don't hate me.”

 

Tears were still streaming down his face when his best friend walked over and dragged him to his feet. He let himself cling to Michael's arm as he walked walked through the house all the way into the bedroom. He gave some half-hearted protests but Michael growled at him and the sound shut him up besides the little sobs he couldn't swallow. He was laid beside a sleepy Geoff who snuffled and shifted at the new weight.

 

o0o

 

The moment Michael came back in the room his nose was filled the scent of scared Omega. Saline. Sweat. Beer. Shorn flowers. _Gavin_. Geoff immediately rolled over and dragged the Brit into his arms, a comforting coo and hum coming from the back of his throat. His boy was shivering and his cheeks were soaked. Michael scooted in behind the Omega, the shirt he'd been wearing a moment ago stripped off and in his hand to start mopping up the tears. Gavin didn't look at them but he buried a hand in Geoff's t-shirt and grabbed Michael's thigh to try and drag them both closer.

 

Michael kept trying to ask him what was wrong but he wouldn't talk. The word _sorry_ was murmured but he wouldn't say anything else. Eventually his boyfriend stopped asking and just started rubbing the Brit's shoulders and the length of his back, trying to massage whatever hurt he was feeling away. Geoff grabbed the blanket and dragged it over the three of them, keeping the chill of the A/C off his boys' skin and trapping their scents.

 

“He's so drunk,” Michael sighed as Gavin started to fall asleep, hands still grasping the couple like they would leave. His traced a raw patch of flesh on his best friend's shoulder. “I don't know what happened.”

 

“We'll ask him tomorrow morning. I'm sure it's nothing.”

 

But neither of them really believed that.

 

o0o

 

Gavin refused to say a word over breakfast and they were forced to let it go.

 


	38. Burnie III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Burnie deals with what he did to Gavin.

**Lots of crude language in this one.**

**So, I've taken a couple comments into consideration and I've decided that a warning in the comments and tags is enough. I am NOT labeling this fic with the "Rape/Non-con" archive warning. I apologize if this offends you.**

**Enjoy the fic, I love you all**

 

* * *

 

Burnie left the bathroom and tried not to run on his back back to the office. The buzz of a good orgasm didn't last more than a few seconds before unfettered guilt swamped his senses. The look on Gavin's face...it had nearly killed him. He'd been too impatient, he'd pushed too hard. He knew Gavin was sore about Michael being Geoff's Omega and he'd practically jammed that button until the boy cried. He didn't have to be a bastard about it. If he'd just waited, Gavin would have come to him.

 

He shoved open the door to his office and tried not to slam it behind him. A heavy hand scrubbed over his face before he plopped down in his chair. The things he'd said to him...what he'd called him. Gavin didn't deserve that. But he'd just been so stubborn. It was easy – he was an Alpha, the kid was an Omega, they should just fuck. Fucking simple. But Gavin had a stupid soft spot for Geoff and it was cockblocking him. If his friend would just fuck off and be happy with Michael then maybe the Brit would've come to him already.

 

 _I shouldn't have done that_ , Burnie reasoned past his lustful Alpha instincts, crossing his arms on the desk and dropping his head between them. _He's a good kid. I shouldn't have made him...Jesus, I made him suck my dick in a bathroom._

 

It didn't have to be this complicated. If Gavin would just be a good Omega and submit to him, this wouldn't have to be so hard. And if Jordan had just stayed-

 

Burnie let out a sigh that shook him to his very bones. If Jordan had stayed, maybe he wouldn't have this insatiable urge to fuck every nice ass that walked by. She had been so gorgeous, so sweet, so perfect for him. His compliment in every way. And she'd ruined him just as perfectly. She'd taken every shred of decency he had out of him and taken it with her. He didn't deserve her. Look at what he'd done to Gavin. Threatened his job, fucked his mouth without a care, and then left him there.

 

The Alpha in him was satisfied but that was about it. _I feel sick._

 

He could still remember how he'd snapped and yelled at her the day the movers had started taking her stuff. _What the hell am I supposed to do now?!_ She'd given him some parting shots about how he should just go fuck one of the office Omegas. _They're always falling all over themselves to get your attention._

 

And now those office Omegas smelled like tempting, tasty morsels and he wanted to try them all to see what he'd been missing all these years.

 

Like Michael. All cherries and fizzle and loud, crude words always spilling from that plump little mouth.

 

Gavin, with that hair that felt like a cloud between his fingers and the little choking noises he made with a cock in the back of his throat. He'd looked great on his knees. He should've bent him over the sink, teased and licked him until he was wet enough to slide into. He'd wanted it, the little shit. He had just been acting up to get it harder. Little brats like him always did. They'd wind Alphas up with their frilly accents and tight asses until they were fucked the way they secretly wanted. Hard. Fast. Gavin had probably been wet the whole time, the liar.

 

And now Ray. He'd be so easy being a virgin. He could lure him in here and throw him over his desk, rip his pants down and fuck him right into his first heat. An energetic, happy kid like that would probably make the sweetest little cut-off moans with each thrust.

 

 _God, stop_ , he pleaded with himself, uselessly fighting off he onslaught of images. _Those are my friends. I'm their boss. They trust me._

 

Burnie was in the middle of swallowing down the bile that had bubbled to the back of his throat when his door was pushed open. Gus's tone was biting and he seemed to be halfway through a lecture when he stopped, voice softening up once he got a good look at the Alpha. “You alright?”

 

 _No._ “I don't' know.”

 

“Maybe you should take the rest of the day.”

 

“Yeah, maybe.” He raised his head up and rubbed his sore eyes before he blinked a the man. “Are you sure?”

 

Gus nodded, gesturing softly. “Yeah. Go on.”

 

Burnie thanked him and waited until he'd closed the door before he started to gather his stuff up. He needed a good night's sleep and a full meal. He was running on fumes. If he wasn't out patrolling the bars for some company he was working, cranking out editing and new ideas like a machine. His quality and quantity were both up but for how long? How long until he finally snapped? He'd already hurt Gavin.

 

_But he wanted it. They all want it._

 

Burnie shook off the poisonous line of thought and made sure to lock his door behind him. As he walked through the building he kept passing by Omegas that he'd hit on and been rejected by. Monty gave him a particularly nasty sneer. Maybe he'd been too forward with him. He'd have to do something to make up for it. But what?

 

He was deep in thought when he got smacked into. He was about to yell but then he got a nose-full of warm, sweet vanilla. It was like Christmas and chai and honeysuckle all on his tongue and his grunt became a faint moan. It slugged up into his brain and settled like syrup, sinking its claws in deep. _Omega._

 

“Sorry, Burns!”

 

 _Ray_.

 

Burnie reached out and took the boy by the shoulders, steadying him. “It's alright, Ray. Just be more careful.”

 

“But it's _Let's Play_ time!” Ray laughed, all smiles and flushed cheeks, “Being careful doesn't rake in views! To the computers!”

 

He was still chuckling as he rushed past the Alpha and headed toward his office where he was sure the others were waiting.

 

Burnie's lips pursed into a thin, white line. He'd been too assertive with Michael, too forceful with Gavin. But Ray...he still had a chance with him. A fruit ripe to pluck. A virgin. _He'd beg for it._

 

The earlier guilt melted away as the Alpha thoughts joined the remaining thick of the boy's scent whirling around in his head. Maybe one more shot with Gavin wouldn't hurt. He'd have to gentle his touch up a bit but he was sure the Brit would willingly give in this time.

 

_And then I'll get a piece of that sweet little Omega._

 

 


	39. Group II (Ray's Coming-of-Status Party)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ray has his coming-out party

**To my newest friend and most beloved[Lara](http://laraloops.tumblr.com/). Without you, this chapter would have never happened and now that it's written I can't imagine the story without it. Hope everyone is having fun watching/thinking about/being at RTX.**

 

* * *

 

 

Geoff had to, admittedly, physically drag Ray out of his apartment and into his car but that didn't mean he didn't want to go. The party had long since started and the guest of honor was late. Instead of being inside with food and ( _kinda-sorta-drunk_ ) friends, the Omega was standing on Geoff's sidewalk staring up at the lit windows. Muffled music spilled into the yard and a loud burst of laughter made him cringe.

 

“Ray,” Geoff sighed, standing impatiently on the porch, “There is literally _nothing_ to be afraid of. Everyone is just here to celebrate and blow off some steam. I know you're hungry, and I bet you're itching to thrash everyone at _Call of Duty_.”

 

Ray chewed nervously at the side of his lip. “How many showed up?”

 

“I don't know, kid, like – thirty? Who cares? You have a table of gifts and there's enough dessert in there to give you some Super Diabetes.”

 

Ray's stomach grumbled and his mouth watered as he thought of sweets. Chocolate. _I can smell the ribs from out here._

 

Geoff made a gallant, sweeping gesture toward the door. “My lady. Your knight awaits.”

 

“Is that a pun, or...?”

 

Geoff snorted. “Ryan's here already.”

 

“Then what the hell are we doing out here?”

 

o0o

 

There were more than a dozen cheers when he walked in but the first thing he noticed was that Gavin and Michael weren't there.

 

“Where's the rest of the Lads?” Ray asked, keeping close to Geoff as they went to the kitchen to get the Omega something to eat.

 

Geoff waited until they had a bit of privacy in the corner by the counter before he replied, leaning in to be heard over the chatter and the music. “The boys are in his room. Something going on with Gavin and he's been really down on himself the past two days. Michael's worried.”

 

“And you're not?” he countered.

 

“Ray, whether you like it or not, you're one of my boys,” Geoff tisked, slapping a hand on the Omega's shoulder. “Until some Alpha puts their balls on and courts his way into your adorable little stupid heart, I'm going to be looking out for you. So Michael will take care of his _boy_ and we're going to have some fun with the, uh, _pack_ or whatever.”

 

Ray was touched but he made himself put on a grin. “That's a little primitive, don't you think?”

 

“Well, when you're as insane as our company, primitive isn't always a bad thing,” Geoff shoved a plate in his hands. “Jack's on the porch. Get yourself some food and let's go stuff our faces with him before everyone starts swarming you.”

 

Ray paled and he noticed.

 

“You're being presented to society, shithead. Get ready.”

 

_This was not my best idea._

 

“Don't give me that look. It's only for a few hours. And you're going to stay the night and then tomorrow.” Geoff twirled his mustache deviously for a second before he started laughing. “It'll be just the Lads and Gents all day. We're going to gorge on leftovers and play some video games and hang out as a fucked up little family. And...”

 

“And?” he pushed.

 

“I may or may not have gotten my hands on the roughest, most beta copy of a game ever. Like, they will legitimately change everything, but we'll be one of the first to play it.”

 

Ray's heart skipped a beat. “No...you did not.”

 

“ _Titanfall_ , baby,” he smirked.

 

“Oh shit, Geoffery, oh fuck!” Ray tossed the plate and grabbed onto the Alpha's neck in a fierce hug, squeezing hard and shaking him in pure joy. “I'd kiss you on the mouth but I'm not that kinda' guy!”

 

Geoff hugged him back and called him a brat but he was grinning.

 

Ray pulled back suddenly, pouting. “I have to wait until tomorrow?”

 

“No whining,” the Alpha scolded mildly, “It's an incentive to stay and put up with this. I know it's going to get a little too much but you'll be happy you did it later on.”

 

Ray nodded quickly, jittery now that he knew that one of the biggest things he'd been wishing for was going to come true. “I'm going to enjoy the shit out of myself.”

 

“Don't, uh, go that far. Just try to have a good time and tomorrow it'll be just the six of us.” _Our little pack._

 

“Can do, boss-man.”

 

o0o

 

The second thing Ray noticed was everyone noticing _him._ It would have sent him running a few weeks ago but he found there was a new well of cool resolve in his core to draw from. The smiles came easier than they would have before. He accepted excited hugs and kisses on the cheek without a wince or any flickers of anxiety. It felt normal, a casual brush of scents, a quick contact to show that he was accepted. He laughed and chatted but the moment someone would walk away he would stand there dumbfounded by his new ability.

 

Being an Omega had given him some armor.

 

It was like being separated, this new persona hovering an inch above his skin and controlling his words and movements. It was a cool new superpower. He was detached but aware, flirty, kind of graceful, and suave like the Omega hotties in procedural cop shows.

 

“Am I really doing this?” Ray asked Geoff quietly. “Is this me right now? Usually I'd be huddled in a corner.”

 

“Yo're an Omega, man, it's in your blood to be social,” Geoff explained, then came a note of warning. “But it's not going to last all night. There's too many Alphas. It takes some time and skill to build it up.”

 

“Gotcha'.”

 

o0o

 

Kara and Barbara came up together, red and pink lips each taking his cheek and leaving their marks behind. His lashes fluttered under their combined Alpha scents and he resisted the urge to duck his head in submission. They gave twin smirks and stood tall on either side of him, the younger even going so far as to rub her cheek on his shoulder.

 

“We just wanted to congratulate you,” Kara stated as she playfully smacked Barb away. It was common knowledge she'd taken the punny Alpha under her wing and tended to keep her eccentric behavior in line.

 

“And you smell fantastic.”

 

“And you smell _fantastic_ ,” Kara repeated with enthusiasm, subtly scenting the air around the Omega. “You're going to have a lovely time and I'm going to do my best to keep Burnie from ruining your new status for you. You know how he's been.”

 

Ray blew out a stern breath. “Yeah, I know. Thanks, K. You're the best.”

 

“Anything for one of Geoff's boys.” Kara shot a wink at the sleepy-eyed Alpha, getting him to blush. “The lucky dog. He gets to hang around all you lovely boys all day and I get to sit upstairs with a bunch of puffy Alphas and Betas. It's dull.”

 

“I like it,” Barb countered, flashing teeth. “Being a few minutes from fisty-cuffs all the time keeps me sharp.”

 

Geoff waved them off. “You ladies can keep all that. I'll stick with my crew.”

 

The word _pack_ hung silently in the air and it made Ray's heart throb happily.

 

o0o

 

Ray had never seen a grown man Adam's size go from sprawled lazily on a couch to on his feet and running so quickly. He moved faster than he ever thought possible and swept the Omega up in a bear hug that squeezed the air from his lungs. It felt like forever before he was put down on his feet and the Beta was beaming at him.

 

“I'm glad you presented, dude, we were getting worried,” Adam admitted, ruffling his hair hard enough to knock his glasses crooked. “Uh, sorry. I'm a little drunk.”

 

Ray chuckled and batted his hand away. “That's fine, man. Thanks. What'd you get me?”

 

“You little brat!” Adam belly-laughed and tried to snag him in a headlock, getting the Omega to bounce on his feet and move out of the way. “You're gonna' piss yourself when you see it. It's pretty damn cool. Now come 'ere.”

 

Ray let his face get smushed up in Adam's big paws as a scratchy kiss was smacked to his cheek. When the Beta pulled back he had some of Kara's vixen red lipstick on his mouth. _Someone better get a picture of that._

 

o0o

 

Though Geoff had warned him on the car ride over that someone might do it, Miles was a big surprise. He'd come up to him smiling nervously and fidgeting with a plain paper bag, the smell of mouthwash on his breath and bits of his hair sticking up like fingers had been running through it. He'd always been kind of low-key for an Alpha and there were rumors that he was actually just a posing Beta but that gossip was wiped out very quickly once he kissed Ray on the cheek in congratulations. It was pure Alpha musk under mint and Axe body spray, different from Kara and Barb.

 

This was...enticing. _Weird._

 

“I never listened to that crap in the office about you. I always knew you'd be an Omega.” It was something people kept saying to him and he wasn't sure if it was a compliment or not so he just smiled and nodded. “Ugh, actually, there's something I'd like to ask you.”

His smile stayed though his brows furrowed. “Sure, man, what's up?”

 

Miles handed the bag over with a blush, fingers shaking when the Omega took it before they were tucked into his hoodie pocket. Ray peered inside and made a pleasantly surprised noise, grinning from ear-to-ear when he looked up.

 

“Holy shit. Are these the new Shure Xbox headphones?”

 

Miles nodded shyly.

 

“Whoa, man, you didn't have to. These things are _expensive_ ,” he hissed the word out like a playful secret. “This isn't that big of a deal. People get a status every day.”

 

“They're a...a-a courting gift,” Miles managed to get out, ears looking painfully hot. “I've always thought you were really cute and you're nice and I know I'm not, like, the best Alpha out there but I would really like the opportunity to...to, you know, court you. Officially.”

 

Ray's mouth dropped open with a little _oh_ of understanding. He politely closed the bag and moved a few steps closer, giving them privacy with a lowered voice and a tilt of his head. “That is really cool, dude, seriously. I appreciate it. You have no idea. I'm flattered because you're awesome and everything, but I can't accept.”

 

It wasn't the flowy, mature response he'd planned in the car if someone asked but it was close. Geoff had explained how official courtship offers were like a super formal thing and it kind of felt like being thrown back into the medieval ages but he didn't mind. It was pretty neat to be in on all the little adult things he'd always seen but never been apart of.

 

Miles's expression fell and the Omega's heart jumped up into his throat in sympathy. A bunch of cliches sat on his tongue but Miles was his friend and he deserved better than that. Besides, he'd heard them all before. It had taken a lot of courage to ask, more than he himself had, and he deserved some respect.

 

“It's nothing against you,” Ray swore. “I'm just kind of attached to an Alpha right now.”

 

That made Miles go wide-eyed, a flood of fear pouring out of his pours and and onto his face. “Oh God, you're already with someone? Oh shit. Are they going to be angry? I had no idea. I thought...I don't know what I thought, but I'm so sorry.”

 

“No, dude, chill.” Ray instinctively reached out and grabbed the man's wrist, rubbing his thumb over the delicate inside to soothe the thudding pulse. Miles deflated and sighed. “I'm not with anyone. I just kind of have my eye on someone. If he wasn't in the picture, I'd take up your offer. You'd make a great boyfriend or mate or whatever. I know you would.”

 

“Thanks.” He waited until Miles was breathing easy before he released his wrist. “Keep the headphones though. Consider it a good luck present instead.”

 

Ray was ready to pounce on the gift but some tickling sensation in the back of his mind told him it wasn't right to accept an Alpha's material offer with his heart so dead set on another. It was rude to both Alphas. He shook his head and handed the bag back. Miles seemed to understand and he took it with a gracious smile.

 

“Would you really have dated me otherwise?” Miles pressed, looking unsure.

 

 _Maybe more so if you had given me one look before I presented._ “Of course, man.”

 

o0o

 

“Can I open presents now?”

 

He felt like a kid but he could see the bags and blatant stack of new games piled against the wall.

 

Geoff downed the dregs of his beer. “No way. It's considered rude to gush all over your damn gifts while your guests are here. Jesus, kid, I think you got more than Gavin did.”

 

The last was muttered in a small amount of surprise.

 

“Can I have dessert then?” Ray whined, lightly elbowing the Alpha in the ribs. “I've been so good. Haven't you been watching?”

 

“Of course I have.” Geoff made a contemplative face before his fingers flicked toward the kitchen. “Go ahead. You deserve it.”

 

o0o

 

That's where Aryyn found him.

 

Ray had just shoved an entire double-chocolate cookie in his mouth when he spotted her. Her low heels clicked sharply off the tile. She looked gorgeous and he kind of found himself ogling as she came toward him with a purpose. Her lips were this smooth, coral pink and her eyes looked ablaze in the harsh light of the kitchen. She reached out and placed a bold hand on his stomach, pinning him against the counter with very little effort. He swallowed and wiped his mouth, tongue swiping across his teeth for inspection before he started to say hello.

 

_Apple cinnamon. Spice. Lust. Need. Submit._

 

Ray's knees knocked and he slapped his hands on the counter, eyes rolling briefly into the back of his head when he caught the full assault of her scent. She smiled and it made his heart kind of kick up a notch.

 

“You're a pretty Omega, Ray. You smell delicious.” Aryyn announced with an air of authority that he could only nod under. “And I could have you on your knees and ready to cum in less than ten minutes. If you let me, that is.”

 

It took Ray several moments before he could gather his logical brain back together and shake off her intoxicating scent. “I...I am not gonna' deny that you're pushing some buttons right now, but I have to turn you down. I mean, guys like me don't turn guys you like down, but I have to. I don't want to, because you're really...really...”

 

_Submit. Get down. Lift her skirt. Show her how good you can be._

 

A little moan left his lips but he shook his head and forced himself to look away.

 

“But I can't.” He swallowed thickly, trying not to breathe her in anymore than he had to. “I'm sorry.”

 

Arryn went from 'smoldering temptress' to 'pouting kitten' in two seconds flat. She huffed her bangs out of her face and crossed her arms, looking more disappointed than angry. She respectfully stepped back to give him room to clear her cloying scent from his nose. “It's okay. You don't have to apologize. I'm just – I guess – ”

 

She huffed again, looking as if she was going to start stamping her feet.

 

“It's been a while, you know?” The exasperated look and the little whine reminded Ray quite suddenly that this was his friend and not some Alpha. It cleared the air fairly quickly. “I've been burning through Omegas but none of them are really challenging me. You've always been such a bundle of energy. I thought you'd be up to giving it a shot. I've been told...” She blushed beautifully but her pout didn't leave. “I've been told I'm a lot to handle. Omega guys have been kind of steering clear of me lately. Especially since Burnie started puffing around. Aggressive Alphas are kind of just dicks now. And it'd be so easy to date in the office.”

 

An idea struck him. “Have you tried Miles? He's looking for some company.”

 

She perked up. “Miles? Ray, he's-”

 

“What?” he frowned. “Hot? Single? Kind of drunk? Yeah, he is. Your timing is flawless.”

 

“He's an Alpha.”

 

He remembered the way Gavin and Michael made goo-goo eyes at each other and shrugged. “So? Alphas are hot-blooded, right? You guys love a challenge. What's a bigger challenge than an Alpha male?”

 

Arryn looked over her shoulder towards the living, then whipped back around. “Do you think he'll be into it?”

 

“Arryn, dude, with the way you smell you could get pretty much anyone to-” _Drop to their knees. Lick every drop of that scent from the source._ “-go out with you. But I would catch him before he drinks anymore.”

 

Her eyes were glimmering again. “Yeah I think I'll do that. Thanks, Ray.”

 

Arryn pecked a kiss to his cheek and left behind a trail of gloss before practically skipping out of the room. He rubbed away the sheen and took a few calming breaths from his zip hoodie sleeve. That had been the most potent Alpha scent he'd had around him since he'd changed. He wondered if that was what all aggressive, interested Alphas smelled like. And if he'd react like that every time. _Where the hell had those thoughts come from?_

 

Ray scrubbed his knuckles over his cheeks in an attempt to wipe away the embarrassed blush that he knew was there. He'd nearly gotten on his knees right there in the kitchen. _What's Ryan going to be like?_

 

o0o

 

Caleb had practically jumped on him, drunk and sleepy and ready to be taken home. For an Omega the guy was strong and it took every ounce of strength Ray had to keep himself upright when his friend tried to climb him like a tree. Kerry, the sweet little Beta he always was, was his DD and congratulated Ray on being an Omega as he all but carried Caleb out of the house.

 

Ray was so busy laughing to himself at the antics that he missed the Alpha making a beeline toward him. He turned at the last moment, sensing something, and was caught before he had the chance to decide otherwise. Broad hands cupped both sides of his jaw and he barely managed to turn his head enough to avoid getting kissed full on the mouth. Lips met his cheek instead and he got his first breath of the Alpha.

 

_Musty. In that good way, like with high quality notebooks and paperbacks. And liquor._

 

“Joel,” Ray scolded as the older man bumped their foreheads and kept them there. “What are you doing?”

 

Joel smirked and he somehow managed to look even more attractive though his eyes were glassy and his face was beet red. “I wanted to see you. So I'm seeing you.”

 

“I'm right here, and you're drunk.”

 

“Just a bit.” Joel ran his thumbs over his cheeks in an intimate way that made him cringe. “I knew you'd be an Omega. Cute little kid like you. Look at you...you're practically built to hang off a knot. And you plumped up so _well_.”

 

Ray shadowed the hands on his face and tried to pry them off as gently as he could. “You're drunk, Joel.”

 

“I'll sober up, but you'll still be pretty.” Another kiss landed on his cheek. It lingered more than the others had, lips wet, scent laced deep in his saliva. He pushed harder but Joel was stronger than he looked. The new set of Omega armor he'd mused about earlier fell away with a nearly audible _chink-chink_ that only existed in his mind. The same primal, Alpha hormones that had poured off Arryn now came from Joel. It hit him like an adrenaline shot and he knew a noise left him when a fantasy flooded his mind.

 

_Joel would fuck into him hard and fast so he'd feel every inch of his cock. He'd moan for him, legs easily hooked over his wide shoulders. It'd be easy. The Alpha was so much bigger than him, long and broad. Joel would fuck him over his desk during work where anyone could see. He'd be so wet and eager and-_

 

“Joel,” he choked out.

 

Joel yelped and was yanked away by vicious fingers pinching his ear. Lindsay was smiling sugar-sweet but her eyes were piercing. “Okay, big boy, that's enough. Let's go play Peggle with the Omegas you aren't freaking out really badly right now. Congratulations, Ray, welcome to the club.”

 

“We should have jackets,” he jested breathlessly.

 

Joel whined and pouted and made grabby hands at the Omega as he was dragged away. “You complete me!”

 

Lindsay just grabbed his other ear and forced him out of the dining room to the couch.

 

Ray's breaths were coming in little bursts as he tried to bring himself down but it was hard. His hands were shaking at his sides and he knew he was going to lose it any moment. There was a swelling bubble of pressure in his chest and he had no idea what to do with himself. His eyes swept over the open doorways in a silent search for help. He caught the blue gaze of the one Alpha who hadn't come up to him. He quickly looked away, insecurities clawing at the base of his lungs and working his way up. He couldn't bother him. This was stupid, it was in his head.

 

A warm hand laid between his shoulder blades, moving slowly enough not to startle him. He pushed into it before he looked to see who it was.

 

“Hey,” Ryan's greeting was soft as was his smile.

 

“Y-You haven't talked to me all night, asshole,” Ray tried to joke but it sounded like a whine.

 

Ryan nodded toward the hall. “Let's change that. Come with me?”

 

Ray gratefully let himself be lead out of the thick of the party and towards Gavin's room, but stopped at the guest room. Geoff usually reserved it for Jack when he came over to crash but it was open to all the AH crew when they stayed the night. He sniffed and nearly moaned in relief when he realized Geoff must have sprayed it down with scent-neutralizer. It was a palette cleanser and he couldn't help but run to the bed and flop down on it, burying his face in the pillow to try and clear Joel's scent from his system.

 

The door was shut and locked before he felt Ryan sit on the bed next to him. His hand came back, this time rubbing up and down the length of his back to help shake the nerves off.

 

“I had no idea Alpha would smell like that,” Ray admitted quietly. “I didn't know they'd affect me so much.”

 

Ryan sighed. “I know. We didn't do a good job of preparing you, did we? I guess we all forgot about the sense-overload part of changing.”

 

“I am so fucked,” he groaned into the pillow. “I know what you mean about figuring out the difference between what I want and what an Alpha wants because – holy shit – I almost gave in twice already. It's like my brain goes offline.”

 

Ryan's eyes flashed but his voice stayed calm. “It's dangerous.”

 

“It's awful.”

 

It took a few long, quiet minutes before Ray felt normal and sat up beside the Alpha. “So what'd you get me?”

 

“Oh, is that all I'm good for?” Ryan quirked a brow but when he got the puppy-eyes he made a defeated grunt. “I got you a little something. It's nothing...but I thought you'd like it. Here.”

 

Ray held out his palms and accepted the flash of metal Ryan pulled out of his pocket. He held it up and his mouth dropped open when he realized what it was. It was a key chain with a little ceramic tuxedo mask and an grey iron skull hanging side by side. All the GTA they'd played together flashed through his mind and he smiled so wide his cheek twinged.

 

“Wow, Ryan...”

 

Ryan scratched at the back of his hair, a rare nervous gesture. “It took some aggressive Ebay-ing and a lot of thinking. I know you have a house key you keep losing and I thought you could use it.”

 

“And it's us,” Ray pointed out cheekily.

 

“And it's us,” Ryan confirmed.

 

He didn't even hesitate to lay his head on the Alpha's shoulder, completely at ease for the first time all night. “I love it, really.”

 

Ryan's arm wrapped around his shoulders and squeezed and the movement made him realize that he hadn't scented the Alpha at all since he'd changed. Except for that time with the scarf and that was hardly like getting it from the source. He went to just shove his face in the man's neck but stopped himself. The perfectionist that cranked his Gamerscore up past everyone in the office wanted him to do it _right_. But he had no idea how to start.

 

“I want something else,” he demanded suddenly.

 

Ryan immediately nodded, ready to give him whatever he could. _Good._

 

“I want learn how to scent.”

 

He'd never seen Ryan's cheeks turn that color but it was the most endearing thing he'd ever witnessed. It softened the Alpha up, made him less bite-y and more cuddly. Ray didn't know where this sudden confidence came from but he liked it. It was different from the indifference, the detachment. This was fueled by his long, yearning crush. _Nothing's going to happen if I don't push it. Ryan's too nice and sweet and God I just wanna' bite his neck and that's fucking weird._

 

“I could tell you-” He stopped when the younger shook his head.

 

“I want you to _show me_ ,” Ray insisted, turning on the bed to sit cross-legged and face the Alpha properly. “I could never really smell like you guys could. Michael and Vav always did it to me so I'd feel included and I want to try it back but...dude, I don't want to embarrass the shit out of myself. Because it's important, right?”

 

“Yeah,” Ryan admitted.

 

“And you promised to tell me how I smelled, remember?” he needled. “And I'll get to see what you really smell like. It's a win-win-win, right?” The Alpha looked like he was going to try and refuse but he wasn't about to let him wiggle out of it. “Besides, who better to teach me than the guy who saw me sweating like a pig and muttering to myself like a nutcase?”

 

“But you were so cute all delusional and trying not to throw up on yourself,” Ryan teased mercilessly, reminding him in the best way of how vulnerable he'd been under the man's care. It strengthened his resolve.

 

“Are you going to teach me or not?”

 

Ryan gave an exasperated huff but it was all for show. He turned and mimicked the boy's position except for one leg stayed hooked over the edge of the bed. “If we do this and you go back out there, everyone's going to think you're taken. Scenting is serious between an Alpha and an Omega.”

 

Ray scoffed lightly. “And you don't think Michael scents Gavin seriously? Come on, dude.”

 

“Okay, okay.” He threw up his hands in surrender before they thumped back to the bed. “But you don't mind if they smell me all over you?”

 

 _I prefer it that way._ “I don't honestly give a fuck what they think.”

 

Nothing happened for a little while and Ray started to fidget but stopped when the Alpha reached out for him. He wrapped his fingers around the back of his hand and brought it up beside his head, pushing down his sleeve to show off the inner side of his wrist. “Alphas scent here, usually. There's a row of glands right up the middle of your arm. It's stronger because the blood's so close to the surface. It's the easiest pulse point to get to. Can I...?”

 

 _Please._ “Yeah.”

 

Ryan didn't look away as he brushed his nose against his wrist for the first time. He got to watch as black swallowed up blue of his eyes, the Alpha's mouth falling open as he gulped down a greedy breath. He gasped when lips met his skin. Ryan looked as if he wanted to start lapping him up but instead he started slowly rubbing his stubbled cheek across his wrist. It was one of the most intimate things he'd ever had someone do to him. This wasn't clumsy groping or wet kisses on the cheek, this was _marking._ It was nothing he'd share with his Lads.

 

“H-How do I smell?”

 

“Amazing,” Ryan admitted, voice thick like it was all stuck in his throat. He pulled away with a heavy reluctance and let the boy's hand fall back to the blanket. “It's sweet.”

 

“No roses?”

 

“Vanilla.”

 

He pouted in disappointment. “Oh.”

 

“It's better,” Ryan assured him before he cleared his throat and got himself back together. “Friends scent from the hair. The scent stays longer. All the pores, you know?”

 

“Makes sense.” It was where Gavin liked to rub his nose the most. “What about the neck?”

 

“You really didn't learn any of this from your parents or in health class or the internet?”

 

“My parents are both Betas, they didn't have a lot to do with scenting. And I went to public school, man.” Ray shrugged, only half lying about not knowing the meanings of popular scent spots. “When you're unrepresented, you don't look up things you don't do.”

 

“It's for lovers.” The old-fashioned word dropped hotly into the Omega's belly. “Or really close friends. It's probably the most intimate place you can scent in public without getting arrested.”

 

“Gavin and Michael do it to me all the time now.”

 

  
“You're like their brother, I'm not surprised.”

 

Ray bit the side of his lip, “Can I try now?”

 

He'd never seen Ryan get so flustered so many times in a row before.

 

“Are you sure?”

 

“I want to make sure I'm doing it right, remember?” Ray sat forward on his hands, slowly leaning in. He couldn't look away from the Alpha's steady gaze. It was full of want, hesitation, like he still thought he was taking advantage. Ryan went to move back but the Omega dropped a hand on his leg, using it to brace his weight as a light pin. He wasn't going to let Ryan go anywhere. They'd danced around each other for so long and now he could _smell_ how much he wanted this. Male musk and just the barest wisp of his natural scent.

 

Ray tried to remember to take it easy because Joel and Arryn's scent had nearly floored him but he couldn't find it in him to care because this was _Ryan_. The one Alpha he would trust with everything. The one Alpha that had managed to steal his heart and had seen him through his worst. He just hoped he didn't embarrass himself too much.

 

Ray grinned when the older man tilted his head, offering up his neck despite the few muttered words of mild protest. He barely heard them, though, too intent on the little jumping patch of flesh that hid a strong pulse. He mimicked the motion that had been done to his wrist, running his nose over the skin.

 

The scent didn't smack into him like it had with the other Alphas. It was slow, like sinking into a too-hot bath. It wasn't just fresh bread anymore. It had evolved. Wood smoke. An entire iron-wrought oven was buried under Ryan's skin. It was what he imagined one of those safe, cozy little kitchens in old-timey houses smelled like. Tucked into the back of the house away from everyone. Dusted in flour, wine on the shelf, sunlight peaking into a smudged window, cut-up timber and kindling piled in the corner. It would have a rough, unpolished table in the corner. And the second he caught a whiff of pure, virile _Alpha_ he imagined being bent over that imaginary table. There was a voice in the back of his mind that sounded like him but far more desperate.

 

_He could take care of me. Love me. He'd keep us safe. He's always kept us safe._

 

Ray didn't realize he was suckling wetly at the Alpha's neck until the man moaned beneath his mouth. One of Ryan's hands had laced into his hair, the other laying on his bare calf right at the line his shorts ended. He fought off a grin and settled for a coy tone. “Am I doing it right, Ryan?”

 

“Yeah,” Ryan's usually smooth voice crackled and it sent heat to his cock to know he could do this to their resident cool-headed tech guy.

 

“Should I be closer?” he whispered.

 

“Ray...”

 

“You smell so _good_ , Rye,” Ray confessed on the tail end of a whimper. “Why didn't you talk to me earlier? We could've spent _hours_ doing this.”

 

A hand settled in the middle of his chest and an ankle hooked around his leg, then he was flipped onto his back. Ray yelped and his arms flew around in an attempt to stop the world from shifting but he landed with a little bounce that didn't hurt at all. Ryan moved to hover him, eyes dark and teeth glinting in the light but he didn't straddle him like they both wanted. A broad palm slid under two layers of clothing and laid flat on his stomach, falling and rising as he shivered under the skin-to-skin contact.

 

o0o

 

Ryan looked over the trembling beauty beneath him and his infamous control slipped. He'd been denying himself so long that he'd forgotten that Ray stuck around because he wanted it too. It was Ray who had invited him over for those little hang-out nights, who visited him at his desk, and who had asked him to see him through his change. This courtship went both ways and it sent a line of fire up his spine. The Omega was so hot and smooth under his hand. He'd mouthed at his neck like it was the best thing he'd ever tasted and he wanted to return the favor. The order to force the kid to show him his throat sat heavily on his tongue. It was too early for play like that but it didn't make him want it any less.

 

Ryan put his free hand in the boy's hair and slowly turned his head to the side, baring the sweet line of his neck for him to admire. He felt for any sign of struggle but there was none. Ray's hands came up but it was only to unzip his hoodie and pull the material aside, giving him room for whatever he wanted. Taking it as all the permission he needed he dipped his head down, breathing right across the Omega's fluttering pulse.

 

“I wouldn't have stopped with a kiss on the cheek like the rest of those Alphas,” Ryan confided, grinning without shame when the sound of his voice made the younger man gasp. “You don't just smell good, Ray. You smell like something to be eaten up by the handful.”

 

Ray shifted on the sheets but never once to get away. “What would you have done?”

 

The time and place...it had finally lined up.

 

Ryan ran his tongue over the line of the Omega's throat. Ray's hand shot to his own lips and tucked a knuckle between his teeth, smothering a moan. The scent flooded his senses and this time he allowed it. He latched his mouth to the skin and started kissing it in the way he'd always wanted to, teeth grazing just hard enough to sensitize the flesh and make Ray shudder. It was a powerful feeling, one he wouldn't want to let go of any time soon.

 

o0o

 

As the minutes ticked by unnoticed, the pair laid out on Geoff's guest bed. Ryan eventually stretched out beside his friend but he was dragged closer by tan, insistent hands until he was half laying on top of them. Hair and necks were nuzzled, rational brains unplugged as they mindlessly rubbed hands over clothing to leave blatant scent trails behind.

 

A little less than an hour later, Ryan was the one to sit up and suggest they go back to the party. Ray didn't even recognize the high pitched noise he made as he grabbed the Alpha by the collar and practically crawled into his lap, foreheads pressed into his shoulder.

 

“Don't.”

 

“We'll have plenty of time to do this when all of our friends aren't in the house,” Ryan promised, petting through his hair. “I'm sorry I didn't come up earlier. You looked like you had your hands full.” _Aw, he's scent-drunk._

 

“You should've been beside me,” Ray griped light-heartedly, tugging on the man's shirt to smooth out the wrinkles they'd put there lolling around in the bed. “Will you be here tomorrow?”

 

“All day, bright and early,” Ryan assured him, untangling himself from the Omega and standing up, hand offered. “Ready?”

 

“As I'll ever be.”

 

o0o

 

Though it was far from as enjoyable as spending the rest of the night in bed with Ryan, he powered through another two hours of party. The people were drunker but everyone was genuinely happy to see him again. He played Xbox and watched a hilarious round of “Never Have I Ever” and cheered with everyone else when a game of “Too Hot” ended up with Miles and Arryn making out on the floor.

 

Geoff dumped a beer on them and told them to go home to do that and they took the advice to heart.

 

o0o

 

Ray helped Geoff shoo the rest of the party away around two. Caiti came and picked up Jack and she pecked him on the forehead and told him he looked great. Coming from a Beta it somehow meant more than it had from his other Alpha friends.

 

Ryan bid them good night and promised to be over with doughnuts in the morning. And, after a glare from Geoff, said he would help clean up when he arrived.

 

After Ray stopped simpering at the closed door, he offered to clean up now so it was easier in the morning.

 

“Nah,” Geoff shrugged, a little more drunk than he'd planned. “Why don't you go say good night to the boys? I'm gonna' hit the hay.”

 

“Sure. Good night.”

 

“Night, kid.”

 

He went to Gavin's door and was going to knock but gave a quick _YOLO, right?_ before opening it up. The room was dark except for a small lamp over the bed and the TV screen. The Brit was laying on his side facing the door, eyes half-lidded and shirt rucked up a bit to show off his stomach. Michael was cuddled up behind him, eyes flicking away from the shitty B-rated horror movie to look at Ray. His hand was on the other Omega's bare stomach, petting gently and thumbing through his treasure trail.

 

Gavin smiled when he realized it was him. “Hey, X-Ray. Sorry we missed your party.”

 

Ray shrugged. “Eh, it was lame anyway. Uh, need anything? I'm gonna' head to bed.”

 

Michael propped his head up on his hand, chin resting on the top curve of his friend's shoulder. “Why don't you sleep in here with us.”

 

Gavin sat up suddenly, eyes bright and big in dark room. “Lad pile!”

 

There was a twinge of uncertainty in his chest. “I don't want to intrude or whatever.”

 

Gavin waved his arms at him as he whined. “X-Ray!”

 

Michael snickered at them, still laying on his side.

 

“YOLO again,” he sighed. “Make room, motherfuckers.”

 

The Omega shed his jacket and jeans, snagging a pair of his friend's shorts off the floor that smelled clean. _Fuck_ it. He slipped them on and Gavin caught him the moment he was in range. He was yanked down onto the bed and the other Omega buried his face in his neck, a different kind of tingle going through him than the kind Ryan had inspired.

 

“Oooh,” Gavin chirped in that bird-like gurgle he made during _Let's Plays_ , “He smells like Ryan, Michael.”

 

“Hey!” Ray protested as he was pulled down by the Jersey boy next, a nose skimming through his hair.

 

“Shit, he does,” Michael marveled, taking another, deeper sniff. “And Ryan smells damn good.”

 

“He always has,” Gavin agreed, squirming down beside the Omega until they had him effectively trapped. “You two smell great together.”

 

Michael tugged on some strands to get his attention. “What did you two do?”

 

“He taught me how to scent,” Ray answered honestly, snagging the other Lad's wrist and bringing it down to his nose. He rubbed along it how Ryan had taught him, scrubbing his sparse beard across the sensitive skin until Michael laughed about how it tickled. Gavin squawked in delight and he let Ray bury his face in his neck, scenting him back.

 

It was completely different than what he'd done with Ryan. _Friends. Family. Pack. This was what it was like to belong._

 

They were too tired to tease their friend further and just cuddled closer together, sandwiching the new Omega with their bodies. It should have been suffocating but it was kind of nice, like being laid on by big puppies or something. He set his glasses to the side and wiggled further down between them.

 

He fell asleep thinking about small kitchens and fluttering hearts.

 

o0o

 

It was early afternoon by the time everyone had returned and breakfast was a collection of sausage egg burritos and doughnuts and muffins. They filled their bellies and shot the shit about whatever came to mind but eventually Gavin got too excited and demanded they open Ray's presents.

 

Ray laughed but couldn't disagree. “Shouldn't I be the one to do it?”

 

Gavin pouted. “But we're _family_ , X-Ray. Family means opening presents together.”

 

“And no one gets left behind,” Jack chimed in.

 

He made a show of thinking it over before he bounded from his seat. “Alright! Everyone grab a bag and start tearing.”

 

Michael and Gavin were quick to go for the biggest presents, both tearing wrapping paper to shreds to send little shiny bits of all in their hair and on their clothes. Jack and Geoff shook certain presents and made sure they carefully opened any clothing or breakable items, tossing the rest to the wild Omegas.

 

Ray took Lindsay's present to the side and put it on the counter. She'd been so keen on making it a surprise and she'd winked at him when she'd put it on the table. The anticipation was killing him. He took apart the silver wrapping paper with a little more care and plucked off the dark red bow. The box inside was simple. She hadn't bought whatever it was in this box so his curiosity only mounted.

 

He flipped the lid and his jaw dropped dumbly, shock making him go slack. “Oh my God.”

 

Ryan came up behind him without warning and shoved a hand in the box, grabbing one of the packages and holding it up for inspection. Ray blushed brightly and tried to bat it down but the amused chuckle in his ear made him stop.

 

“ 'Real knotting sensation',” Ryan quoted, so close now. “ 'Hyper realistic feeling'. This should all be useful for your first heat.”

 

He hadn't given that a single thought and now it made him warm all over. A box full of sex toys was nothing compared to the Alpha breathing down his neck. There were several kinds of lubes, an assortment of toys, even ones he ( _oh my god, that better not be a Fleshlight_ ) could actually fuck.

 

“It's a very thoughtful gift.” Ryan shook the package a little before tossing it back into the depths of the box. “Some of these run a little small. Shame.”

 

Ray turned around and gaped at him, the corners of his mouth turning up in a smile. “Mr. Haywood, I don't think it's appropriate to talk about the size of your dick this early in the day. It's barely after breakfast.”

 

The wolfish grin on the Alpha's face made him sway back into the table but he was gone and back across the room before either of them could think of something else witty to disguise their flirting. _I love being an Omega._

 

 

 

 

 


	40. Burnie IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Geoff and Michael find out what Burnie did, but can they do anything about it?
> 
> -
> 
> “I couldn't bear the thought of you knowing.”

**Strong language. Violent streak. Very serious.**

 

**These are posted out of sequence. Don't like that? That's perfectly fine. Check out the[linear link post](http://emono-omae.tumblr.com/post/99261946051/timeline-for-id-like-it-better-if-i-could-win-at-it) here on my blog to see everything in order.**

 

* * *

  

The entirety of the office knew it was only a matter of time before things came to a boiling point. Burnie danced tight circles around Gavin to the point where the Brit was ruffled and jumpy almost all the time. The agitation of his boy wound Michael up tighter and tighter every day which in turn made a gruff Alpha out of Geoff.

 

The whole AH crew was getting antsy and it was only a matter of time.

 

o0o

 

“Look, Michael, I'm Ray!” Gavin laughed loudly as he spun around in the Puerto Rican's chair, stealing his seat and his desk while the other Lad was out to lunch. His best friend wasn't paying a bit of attention to him, headphones clamped firmly over his ears and eyes trained on the computer screen. He'd recorded three _Rage Quits_ before the rest of them had even arrived at the office and he was bound and determined to have them ready for publishing before the day was over. Gavin played with the toys and trinkets on his friend's desk, occasionally chucking some of the softer items at the other Omega's head. He chatted idly, almost to himself, about how Michael's hair was starting to grow out from the live-stream where they'd cut it off and his new _Let's Build_ idea and anything else that came to mind. He loved talking to his boy whether he could hear him or not.

 

Gavin had reached optimum spinning and he only could see Michael in a pink-shirted blur, the grin on his face slowly fading as someone else came into view. They were big and blue and they walked into the room like they owned it. Gavin dug his heels into the carpet to stop but the world whirled and tilted heavily to the side. He swayed with it, body still trying to follow the inertia as the person got closer.

 

He picked up their scent but it was too late to get up, to run, to move. _Sour wine._

 

“Hey Gav.” Burnie quickly cornered him, bending down a bit to loom over him and putting a hand on the side of the chair. “What are you doing tonight?”

 

“Hanging out with Geoff, maybe Michael,” Gavin replied as confidently as he could manage. He still remembered all-too-well the bite of tile at his knees and the starchy taste of cum on the back of his tongue.

 

“Fuck that, you can be with them any time,” Burnie dismissed easily. “Come out with me after work.”

 

“Like to get bevved up at a pub?”

 

There was something in that too-wide smile that scared him. “Yeah. There's a new place I know that you'd love.”

 

He scooted until the back of the chair smacked into where the wall and desk met it. It rattled everything on the surface, catching his best friend's attention. “Who else would be there?”

 

“Just you and me, kid.” Burnie made it sound like a sultry promise when he felt like it was nothing more than a trap. “I'll make up for the other day. I shouldn't have been so rough with you, Gavvers, and I know you can forgive me. You just weren't ready. I understand, and I'm sorry for pushing you.” Gavin jolted loudly in the chair as the Alpha purposefully looked him over. “But I'll get you there. Don't you worry.”

 

Michael made a rough sound and jumped out of his chair, shoving Burnie in the shoulder and muscling his way between them. “What the hell are you doing?”

 

Burnie laughed right in his face. “Me? Nothing. What are you doing, Omega?”

 

Michael could smell Gavin's fear and it made his blood boil with a more potent rage than when he lost at games. “Keeping shitty Alphas like you away from my friend.”

 

The older man was quick for his age, quicker than Michael remembered from their little kitchen encounter. A solid palm smacked into the middle of his chest and he was shoved so hard he stumbled into his chair at an angle that drove the arm of it into his back. He made an embarrassingly high-pitched noise at the pain and barely kept himself from falling to the floor. A single finger pointed at him and the one gesture made him freeze like spotted prey.

 

“Stay out of this, Michael, or you're going to get _fucked_ ,” Burnie spat the brutal threat. Michael hated himself for it but he shrunk away, the Alpha tone striking him just as hard as any physical blow. He knew, rationally, something like that would never happen. He'd gouge out Burnie's eyes long before Geoff would if he tried anything. But like back in the kitchen all that time ago, the Omega side of his brain made him cower like an idiot.

 

Gavin grabbed at the older man's arm. “Leave him out of this.”

 

Burnie's attention turned back to him so quickly that he drew his hand back, afraid to touch him. “You're right, I should.”

 

The Brit threw himself back into his seat to avoid a blow that never came. Instead there was a tender cup of his cheek, the strong swipe of a thumb along his cheekbone, and the contact made his stomach churn painfully. “Don't be all stubborn like this.”

 

Gavin tried to shake off his touch but the other was persistent and leaned in closer, the warmth of his breath brushing his cheek.

 

“You don't have an Alpha. Nobody else wants you. They've kind of made that clear, haven't they? And you noticed.”

 

The lack of looks, the rejection, the purposeful way others turned away when he tried to shoot them flirtatious smiles. A lump formed in his throat.

 

“But I want you, Gav,” Burnie promised in a honeyed purr. “I'll take care of you. I can give you all the American cock you can take. You liked it so much before.”

 

“He _has_ an Alpha! And he _is_ wanted, asshole!” Michael barked, shooting to his feet and wedging between them once more. Burnie didn't back up far this time and the back of his legs were pressed tight to Gavin's knees. “ _We_ want him.”

 

“What?” Burnie was laughing again and it only pissed him off more. “He's yours? What, you and Geoff share him or something?”

 

Michael positively fumed. “Maybe we do!”

 

There was a heat behind those words that made the Alpha draw back, brows furrowing. “But...?”

 

Gavin's ears were blood red, the lie everything he'd fantasized about and more.

 

Michael jabbed the Alpha in the chest, smirking when he made him flinch. “And if we did, it'd be none of your God damn business.”

 

“That's bullshit.” Burnie tisked, the cocky tone coming back full strength. “If you haven't checked your privilege lately, _Micoo'_ , you're a fucking Omega. You'd never let another Omega fuck your Alpha, not even one as pathetic as Geoff.”

 

“What kind of backward-ass kind of mindset is that, asshole?” Michael sputtered out, red in the face as he suppressed the urge to smack the Alpha in the face with the nearest keyboard. “Geoff is his God damn Alpha and I'm his best fucking friend! So just _back off_!”

 

Burnie snarled and shoved the Omega with the blunt of his forearm, sending him straight into the Brit's chair. Gavin caught his friend easily, long arms wrapping around him protectively as they both glared up at their boss. The hostility snapped him back to reality, sobering him up to realize two of his friends were ready to rip his throat out with their teeth if need be.

 

_He's taken. It's not worth it._

 

“Whatever,” Burnie huffed. “You two deserve each other. There are other Omegas than you two.”

 

“That's what I'm saying,” Michael snarked, his friend's arms tightening around his waist. “So why don't you go back to your side of the building and leave Gavin the hell alone?”

 

“You don't want me? _Fine._ Enjoy being second best.”

 

o0o

 

Matt's office was always unnaturally chilly for being smack dab in the middle of Texas. It was even colder with the man's expression so shut off, eyes hard and unforgiving as he looked between his two good friends. He'd reached his breaking point after Geoff had told him exactly what had gone on in the office while he'd been out. Michael had been more than willing to share the truth about Burnie had stormed in and pushed them around. It had taken nearly ten minutes to calm his Omega down.

  
“I will never forget what we've all gone through together. I won't forget how we started and what we've done. And I certainly won't forget that we're here for entertainment, that we deal in video games of all things,” Matt announced quietly, voice wavering on a razor's edge of true anger. “But you two seem to have lately. We're not a dating pool, we're not a fighting ring, and we're not a damn Omega soap opera. Your paychecks keep coming because some damn _work_ needs to be put into all of this. Now what the _fuck_ is going on?”

 

“He's being greedy,” Burnie stated firmly, arms crossed over his chest in a defensive stance. “He's taking all the Omegas.”

 

Matt incredulous look humbled his temper a little.

 

“Michael is my Omega, everyone knows that. We've been dating for like two years now,” Geof reasoned. “Gavin's mine by proxy while he's here in America away from his family. And he doesn't fucking want Burnie.”

 

The last part was hissed through his teeth with a glare in the other Alpha's direction. He got shrugged at like it was no big deal. “He had no idea what he wants. He didn't let me court him. Totally unfair, in my book.”

 

Geoff sneered. “By 'courting' _,_ you mean 'fucking'.”

 

“That's enough,” Matt butted in, hands thumping impatiently off he desk. “Maybe I don't _get it_ because I'm not an _Alpha_ or whatever, but you two have to quit doing this shit.

 

“But Burnie he-”

 

“I didn't start this he came in and-”

 

“ _Burnie_ ,” Matt snapped, cutting through their protests, “Gavin and Michael have the right to fuck or not fuck whoever they want in the office or outside of it. Omega or not.”

 

Geoff was starting to relax when his friend's stare turned to him. “And Geoff, they're not kids. You can't pull this crap every time an Omega starts crying for their daddy.”

 

The word made him visibly cringe.

 

“Matt, dude, I'm not trying to overstep my bounds here,” the words were hard to say to a Beta but he meant them, “But when I – we – came up with Achievement Hunter, you put me in charge of it. Every game, every idea, and every person hired was my responsibility. They're _mine_ , alright? You have to understand that, I just want you to see my side. They're my subordinates, my friends, my boys. Even Jack and Ryan. Even Lindsay.” Her name was growled, the look on her face after she'd been shamelessly groped in the office still etched into his mind. “I go where I'm supposed to and meet every fucking deadline that's thrown at me. I don't ask any questions because I trust you know what you're doing. I don't meddle in any of your guys' shit so I want Burnie to stay out of mine.”

 

Matt rubbed a hand over his eyes, a migraine building in his left temple and behind his ears. “Do you two even understand that Rooster Teeth cannot keep going with you two at each other's throats like this? You're both important and shit. And I love the guys, you know I do, they're our life blood and they keep us young, but I'd hate for years of hard work to go down the drain because of some ass.”

  
Geoff bristled, fists clenching hard at his sides. “Gavin is more than a piece of tail.”

 

“Yes he is,” Matt amended. “He's a great asset. I want him here just as much as you do so you two have got to stop letting him pit you against each other.”

 

“He's not doing anything!” Geoff snapped, offended. “I don't know what the hell Burnie did to him, but he's been off for a week now and I'm pretty sure he-”

 

Matt pounded his fist so hard on the table it knocked off a stapler. “Fucking hell, Geoff, what did I just say? I don't want to hear anymore of this father bullshit!”

 

The Alpha snarled quietly before he went quiet, jaw clenched tight enough to make his teeth ache. _This isn't fucking fair._

 

“I don't want to see you two again,” Matt stated, a dangerous command for a Beta to make to two pitted Alphas. “Burnie, if you harass another Omega, I want to see them in here _themselves –_ hopefully beating the shit out of you, okay? We're adults here. 'He said, she said' is for fucking high school. Geoff, I promise that I will fire his fucking ass if that happens. Or let you whoop him until he cries. Whatever is more appropriate.”

 

Geoff barely felt himself nod, too full of disbelief and biting instincts to say anything else.

 

o0o

 

Michael had locked the door to the AH office and put up a sign with little scribbles and doodles all over it to make sure no one worried. It showed a mirth neither of Team Nice Dynamite was feeling. He was currently sitting in Geoff's big chair with Gavin perched between his legs. He curled along the Brit's back, chin hooked gently on his bony shoulder and hands rubbing soothing circles over his stomach. Seeing how shaken up he'd been after his encounter with Burnie, Michael had urged his best friend to test out the next game he was planning to use for a _Rage Quit_ as a distraction.It seemed to work for a few minutes but in the middle of the first stage a fine tremble started to work its way through the other Omega's limbs, the adrenaline drop leaving him vulnerable and soft under his hands.

 

“Hey, hey,” Michael soothed, rubbing a little harder as the other gave a shaky breath that bordered on a sob. “Chill the fuck out. I'm right here, alright?”

 

One of Gavin's hands slowly raised up, going over his own shoulder to peel off Michael's hat and expose his hair. The Jersey boy let it happen, humming lowly as fingers carded through the strands. The gentle petting calmed them both down more than they wanted to admit. The controller was abandoned on the desk. He started rubbing his cheek along the Brit's exposed neck, scenting him back. He wanted to kiss and lick away the faint trace of Burnie left on his friend's cheek but he restrained (just barely). Gavin cooed and the sound made something tighten in his chest. He was tempted to lock them away for the rest of the day but eventually the others would come back from their other projects.

 

Michael's fingers danced just under the Omega's shirt to touch along the groove of his hip. “You're ours, Gavvers. No one's going to fucking claim you while I'm around.”

 

“He's our bloody boss, Michael.” Gavin chewed hard at the side of his lip, rubbing his face in Michael's lengthening hair to brush away the last of the older man's smell.

 

“I don't give a fuck who he is,” Michael growled, the distinctly _Alpha_ sound making the other Omega whine in the back of his throat. “He's not getting you. No matter what.”

 

The Omega's lower lip shook but only for a moment. He snuggled deeper into the other's embrace as he voiced his thoughts. “Maybe it'd be better if I just let him-”

 

“Don't you even fucking say that,” Michael cut him off fiercely, fingers hooking so hard into his friend's soft belly that he forced out a whimper (though not entirely in discomfort). “You're not going to let some inflated asshole Alpha fuck you for the good of the company or whatever your stupid brain is thinking.” He sighed sharply before he forced himself to whisper. “And I fucking heard what he said earlier. Did you two...did he...”

 

Gavin shook his head. “No, Michael.”

 

“ 'No' you won't tell me, or 'no' you two didn't fuck around?”

 

Gavin winced at the wording and his friend felt the tension shoot through his lanky body. He got a sweet kiss behind his ear and it forced the truth out of the tight bands in his chest. “The other day...when I got so smashed I nearly pissed myself? And you guys let me sleep in your bed?”

 

Michael dreaded the answer but he nodded anyway, softening up his touch and rubbing over the little sore spots he'd left on the Brit's stomach.

  
“I blew him in the loo and...and I didn't handle it well.”

 

Michael felt a growl building up in his throat and he choked on it. Gavin sounded like he was close to crying and he was torn between wanting to stay cuddled with him hiding in the office and going out to hunt Burnie down and eat his fucking tongue. It was a dizzying mix of emotion and he had to take a few jagged breaths to keep himself together. He grabbed a handful of Gavin's hair and shoved his face into it, breathing in that stupidly frilly flower scent that curled like smoke in his nose and down into his chest.

 

“Please don't tell Geoff,” Gavin begged, shamelessly baring his neck to let the Omega have what he wanted. “He'll think I'm...please, Michael.”

 

“Why?” he grit out, “Why with _him_ of all people?”

 

“Because he threatened my job,” Gavin confessed. “He said he'd talk to Matt about getting rid of me. A-And that Geoff wasn't my Alpha and you'd never share and I didn't wanna' be forced to leave and it's better me than you or Ray or someone because you've all got Alphas.” He took a second to breathe. “It was so quick but it was in the upstairs bathroom while you guys were working. And then Ryan caught me and I was so scared he'd tell you.” He snapped his mouth shut as he realized he was descending into mindless chatter.

 

That threw him. “Ryan knew about this?”

 

“Yeah,” he shivered hard, little goosebumps running up and down his arms. “I-I, uh, I offered to get him off if he didn't say anything 'bout it. Not my best moment.”

 

“Jesus fucking Christ,” he breathed.

 

“I couldn't bear the thought of you knowing.”

 

Michael was pretty sure he knew the answer but he had to ask. “Know what exactly?”

 

“How filthy I am.”

 

Gavin cried out as he was unceremoniously dumped onto the floor. He rubbed his sore elbows and sat up, eyes wet as a few spots on his legs throbbed. He was planning another apology that would soothe Michael's rage but his thoughts stopped dead when the other Omega dropped into his lap. A hand cupped his chin and a warm thumb traced his lower lip, his mouth falling open without hesitation.

 

“If you say one more shitty word about yourself, I'm going to spank you. And I'll make it fucking hurt,” Michael threatened, and the statement would've made Gavin laugh any other time but not with the other Omega sounding so serious. “You're not... _Jesus_ , Gavin, you're not anything like that. You're my boy. You know why no one tries to get in your pants?”

 

He wanted to shake his head, ask why, but Michael's thumb pressed down on the flesh of his lip and he didn't want him to let go.

 

“Because Geoff has practically peed in a circle around you and no one wants to cross him,” Michael's lips turned up wickedly. “And I make sure every Alpha intern we hire knows in no uncertain terms that they need to stay the fuck away from you.”

 

His brow knit up.

 

“No one deserves you.” The growl was back, rumbling just behind his words. “I can't trust another stupid bastard to properly take care of you. You're ours. Got that?”

 

Gavin made a little sound of agreement, mouth still obediently open.

 

“You have to promise me,” Michael stated, thumb slipping further in to hook on the back of the other's teeth. Gavin whimpered and tilted his head back, jaw dropping under just the slightest pressure. He ducked in and breathed hotly across sensitive lips, drawing out another little sound from his best friend. A surge of power helped swamp the anger and force it down into a low simmer that he could use for something useful later. “You're not going to let him touch you again. If he tries, I don't care what he says, you're going to walk away. Geoff will never let him fire you. And you know why?”

 

Gavin's light colored lashes caught the light, half-lidded as they were.

 

“Because he's your Alpha.” The statement made the Brit shift beneath him, breath puffing hot across his thumb. “I meant what I told Burnie. Do you believe me?”

 

The moment his thumb slid from the Omega's warm, inviting mouth he got a spill of agreement.

 

“Good.”

 

Gavin released a strangled sob and grabbed onto his friend for a tight hug. Michael hushed him softly and their mouths roamed hungrily over every inch of neck they could find. They each desired another world-searing kiss like the one they'd shared the night they were drunk with Geoff but neither went for it. They didn't want to taint this tender thing between them with the smell of challenging Alpha in their noses.

 

“You don't hate me, Michael?” Gavin rasped in his ear.

 

“No, never,” Michael swore fiercely. “You're my boy, right?”

 

The familiar endearment made him smile, tears drying up as his nose found a home in red-tinted locks of hair. “Yeah. Always.”

o0o0o0o

 

A couple days later, Michael went to Burnie's office alone. It was early in the morning, hardly anyone had arrived at the obscene hour, and if they had they were getting coffee or regretting their decision at their desks. The Omega sauntered in and closed the door behind him, leaning against it with a shy little smile and pointedly flicking the lock.

 

“Michael.” Burnie let the name linger in the air as he watched him walk closer, jeans so tight they added delicious length to the short boy's legs. He couldn't pass up a pretty sight like an Omega walking up to him with swinging hips and wearing a shirt that clung in a way that the faintest outline of his nipples showed through. “Did we have a meeting I forgot about?”

 

“No,” came the soft reply.

 

“Well, I'm not complaining because this is a nice sight, but what can...” His voice trailed off as the Omega rounded his desk, beanie getting tugged off and tossed onto his desk. Wavy russet colored hair was revealed, ruffled and catching the light. “A sight that keeps getting better.”

 

Michael didn't say a word but smiled and moved in front of him, bracing his hands on the arms before climbing into the seat. Burnie sat back to give him room, eyebrow raised. “This is a nice surprise. Did you finally come around, baby?”

 

The Omega's pale hands ran up his chest, fingers skimming the line of his collarbone and shoulders firm enough to make his dick twitch. The boy shifted up until his knees rested where the Alpha's arms lay. Burnie thought it was just a means to an end and didn't give it a second thought until the Omega's weight redistributed and he suddenly couldn't move them.

 

Michael's hands curled around his neck and his expression changed from coy to murderous, that trademark rage making his dark eyes even darker. True, sobering fear burned through his veins as he realized he couldn't draw a full breath. The younger was stronger than he looked, smarter too because the joints of his elbows were locked tight with the sharp bend of his knees. The chair screeched under their weight and threatened to tilt but Michael only sneered and clamped down harder until he croaked.

 

“You fucking put your hands on Gavin again, and I'm not going to let go next time,” Michael bit out, the Alpha's pulse jumping erratically under his fingers. “He's _mine_. Fuck Geoff. Fuck your stupid Alpha bullshit. You threaten his job again and I'll cut the breaks to your car. I'll put enough ipecac in your coffee to make you throw up a lung. I'll fuck up every podcast, every _Immersion,_ every video that passes through your computer will get _fucked_.” The word was thrown back at him with the same harsh tone he'd used on the Omega. “Because despite the shit you poured into his head, Gavin is more important than a job. And I am wild.”

 

Burnie gasped as his neck was released. The Omega moved off him in one, smooth motion. The hat was tugged back onto his head, hiding his hair, and he didn't look back as he strode across the room.

 

“Nice talking to you, Burns.”

 

Michael whistled as he kicked the door shut. The Alpha rubbed his neck and sunk further in his chair, unable to disguise how terrified he was now that he was alone in his office. There wouldn't be bruises but he was going to have to hide for a couple hours while he waited for the red marks to fade.

 

 _No more Gavin,_ he mused, the phantom weight of Michael still lingering in his lap. _Guess I had to learn that one the hard way. No fucking with taken Omegas._

 

o0o

 

Unlike his boyfriend, Geoff's anger had no build up. He didn't get red or puff or scream, he simply stalked to the back of the annex with a singular goal in mind. Kara, Kerry, Miles, and Ryan were gathered around one of the toolboxes. The shelves had stuck themselves open and they were helplessly trying to unjam them while Miles recorded the whole thing for an _RT Life_. The Alpha prowled up and snatched the camera, catching the attention of his friends.

 

“Leave.”

 

Kara stood up straight, hands going to her hips. “Excuse you?”

 

“I need to speak with Ryan.” The curt, icy tone had Miles leading Kerry away with a worried expression. Kara looked him over, assessing, and then seemed to decide it wasn't worth it. She patted her friend's shoulder and walked off, muttering about how she needed a break anyways. Ryan stared at the other Alpha for a moment before he returned to the stuck box.

 

“What's up?” he asked, bent over the drawers with his hand wedged down between them in hopes of coaxing the hinges to give. The light cut out as the other man's shadow passed over him. “Geoff? Is everything okay?”

 

Tattooed fingers curled in the collar of his shirt and yanked him up straight into a sucker punch to the jaw. The force of the blow took him off his feet and knocked him straight onto his ass. Geoff knelt over him and grabbed his shirt again, teeth bared as his fingers knotted in the material. He looked ready to strike again but Ryan just threw up his hands.

 

“You fucking knew,” Geoff accused hotly, voice low to keep idle ears from hearing. “You knew Burnie threatened to throw him on the street if he didn't suck his cock and you didn't say one. Fucking. Word.”

 

Ryan could taste copper in his teeth but he didn't make a move to fight back. “I know you're angry-”

 

“I'm _beyond_ angry. I'm nuclear, asshole.” Geoff tightened his grip in his shirt, the cotton threatening to rip under the strain. “You should have told me. You know how I feel about Gavin. I can't protect him unless I know what's going on. Fucking Christ, Ryan, you're my friend. At least I thought you were.”

 

Ryan carefully blanketed the hand in his shirt, sitting up enough to come face to face with the fuming Alpha. “I am, and I was going to tell you but you should have seen how upset he was.”

 

“I bet he was.” His gaze narrowed to a laser focus. “What are you trying to pull? My boy tried to blow you to keep a secret and you just fucking _walk away_?”

 

“He's not your boy,” Ryan shot back, the other blanching at the statement. “At least not yet. If you and Michael would just put some fucking balls on and claim him this wouldn't be an issue. I had no idea what you'd think of Gavin for what he did and neither did he so we just kept quiet. It wasn't worth risking his chance with you two.”

 

The wind was sapped out of his sails. “I...I would never...”

 

“Geoff. He did something he isn't proud of and he did it to stay with you. He cares about you both a lot and it's painfully obvious.” Ryan dropped his hand. “I know I'm not the one you want to hit but if it makes you feel any better, go ahead. But I think you're pissed off and jealous, and that Gavin needs you more than you need to punish someone.”

 

The other Alpha stood up and offered his hand. There was no verbal apology but it wasn't written all across his face. Ryan accepted the hand and stood up, swiping his thumb over his mouth to make sure there wasn't any blood.

 

“You, uh,” Geoff cleared his throat. “You gonna be done with that _Let's Play_ edit anytime soon?”

 

 _God save me from stupid Alphas with protective issues._ “Should be done by the end of the day.”

 

 

 


	41. Joel's Courting - Part I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joel decides to make up his blunder to Ray. But it's more than that.
> 
> “It probably won't help my situation to tell you I was so stunningly drunk that when I got home I challenged my bed post to an arm wrestling match?”

***chanting like in UFC* JOE-LAY, JOE-LAYJOE-LAYJO-LAY. Joe-lay! Joelay!**

**The party's that mentioned...don't worry about being confused, it's going to be a drabble by itself. That will come in the next five drabbles, somewhere.**

  

* * *

 

It was a few days after his status party before Joel spoke to him again.

 

Ray spotted the man lingering in the doorway of the AH office. He slipped his headphones down around his neck and gave him a knowing smile. Joel was scratching nervously at the back of his arm, shoulders hunched, embarrassment written all over his face. Geoff stared the Alpha down, looked at Ray, then shrugged and went back to his own work. Jack and Michael were too wrapped up in their own stuff to care.

 

“Uh, hey,” Joel greeted as he carefully stepped around the rage-prone Omega to stand at the younger man's desk. He leaned against it, froze, but relaxed when he saw that Ray was smiling in permission. “I owe you an apology.”

 

“Kinda', yeah.”

 

“It probably won't help my situation to tell you I was so stunningly drunk that when I got home I challenged my bed post to an arm wrestling match?”

 

Ray sputtered out a laugh. “Actually yeah, it does.”

 

The older man perked up at this, a handsome smile pulling his lips. “I know it was shitty to get that smashed at your party, kid. I hope I didn't ruin anything.”

 

Ray thought of the hour he'd spent curled up in Ryan's arm, scenting and hazy-brained. “I can honestly say you only made things better, man.”

 

“Really?” If their lives were an anime his hair would've been floating in elation. “I'm glad to hear it. I was worried and I should have apologized sooner but I'm an asshole. Let me make it up to you.”

 

He snagged the bottle of water on his desk and took a drink. “Mm, how?”

 

“Let me take you to lunch?” the Alpha offered. “My treat. Anything you want.”

 

Ray sat back in his chair, a smug expression slapped on his face. “Even that sweet-ass Mexican place that charges way too much and has the best burritos in town?”

 

Joel nodded and it was like the clouds broke through and Ray lit up, jumping to his feet and snagging the man by the wrist. “Then what the hell are we waiting for. Let's Lunch!”

 

The bellow was followed by a soft chuckle from the Alpha who let himself be led all the way out of the building by an over-excited kid.

 

o0o0o0o

 

They wrapped up a _Let's Play_ with a resounding cheer. The sound had barely died down and Michael and Gavin were just starting to horse around when there was a knock on the door, the sharp rap cutting through the conversation.

 

“Joel...?” Jack prompted, wondering if something had stopped working for their friend to make the trek across the building to see them.

 

“Hey guys,” Joel greeted, both palms braced on the door frame as he let it take his weight, leaning into the room. “Are you, uh, about ready to wrap it up for the day?”

 

Geoff shared a strange look with his Beta friend before he nodded. “Yeah. We were going to go home after we saved. Why? Is there something else we need to do?” His lip curled up. “Something _Burnie_ wants us to record?”

 

“Nope, nothing like that,” Joel replied quickly, shooting a blinding grin at their newest Omega. “Do you need a ride home?”

 

“Uh,” Ray floundered briefly. “Uh, yeah. But usually I just grab one with Michael or something. Why? Are you...offering?”

 

“Why do you all sound like it's such a surprise that I'm here!” Joel tried to laugh it off but winced when he realized they had every right to be suspicious. Usually he stuck close to his own office. “I wanted to see if you wanted a ride, maybe grab some dinner?”

 

“Oooh, food,” Ray hummed, rubbing his rumbling tummy.

 

Gavin leaned far back in his seat, grinning up at the Alpha. “You gonna' treat us for a job well done?”

 

“You fucking leech,” Joel snorted. “This is a Ray-exclusive offer.”

 

“Joel!”

 

“ _Joel_ ,” Joel mocked, grinning and ruffling the boy's hair to show he didn't mean it.

 

“I could go for some Chinese and a ride,” Ray accepted, a rude sound echoing over his headphones. He looked at Michael but the Omega was silently sitting with his nose all scrunched up as he fixed Gavin's hair back, deliberately rubbing his fingers in his scalp. “Give me ten minutes?”

 

“You betcha'.”

 

o0o

 

Across the building in the annex (aka: The Land of the Forgotten), a frustrated Alpha tossed his headset onto his desk. He huffed angrily and scratched his nails through his beard. _Fucking Joel_ . Ryan knew he himself was too old for Ray but Joel was twice his age. The suave, handsome bastard. The other Alpha looked good for his age, he'd admit that, but he wasn't right for Ray. The Omega was sweet and energetic, optimistic, compared often to a little bundle of sunshine. _He'd kill me if he ever heard me say that_. Joel wasn't exactly jaded but he had a biting sense of humor that could wear down on a person after a while. The two had been friends before he'd presented but now the Alpha had a glint in his eye that wasn't there before.

 

Ray had gone from friendly Achievement Hunter to potential mate in the office and it was driving Ryan crazy. He didn't have any room to talk, he gave the Omega the same types of looks, but he knew he was in for more than a fuck. These other Alphas...he didn't trust them to have good intentions. Ray deserved someone who would laugh at his terrible jokes and cuddle with him while playing _Call of Duty._ Not someone who wanted a simpering little Omega to laugh on cue and share heats with.

 

Ray was a cute kid but he wasn't built to be arm candy. He was too smart, too warm. _He has too big of a heart._

 

“You alright over here?” Lindsay asked tentatively, rolling over so the arms of their chairs bumped. “You were having a lot of fun a few moments ago. Did The Gents lose?”

 

“No,” he grunted.

 

“You want me to wrap up here so you can head home?” Lindsay's voice was gotten soft and her light, pear-like scent wafted in front of him as she placed a hand on his. The tips of her fingers drummed lightly along his knuckles and some of his gloom dissipated. He didn't often scent with Omegas, platonic or otherwise, but Lindsay was good at calming him down. She'd rarely seen him angry but the few times she had went well thanks her to quick actions. Her voice was soothing and her scent was a good palette cleanser. He took her offered hand and raised it up, brushing his nose along the tendon by her thumb before letting it fall back down into her own lap.

 

“I'll be fine, thanks,” he replied honestly. “Why don't _you_ head home and I'll finish up everything?”

 

“I don't want to leave you all alone back here.”

 

“Even Monty's gone and you know he practically lives at his desk. Go.”

 

She pouted. “Arryn and Barb and I were going to head out to a bar. You want to come along?”

 

He shook his head. “I am way too old to go hang out with a bunch of beautiful women. They'll think you're my harem or I'm your sugar daddy or something. Go have some fun for both of us.”

 

“Whatever you say.” She shot him a wink. “ _Daddy_.”

 

Lindsay grabbed her purse and practically skipped out, leaving the Alpha pink-cheeked and unsure of what he'd been brooding about in the first place.

 

o0o0o0o

 

Joel kept stealing Ray away for lunches and game nights and a whole slew of things. The oblivious Omega agreed to all of it without a second thought. It wasn't that Joel was some wicked, tricksedy warlock trying to steal a princess. It was just that Ryan's jealousy and concern grew as Ray kept going along with it. He worried that his friend really did want to be courted, and if he did...

 

Ryan eventually decided to let it go and allow it to happen naturally. _If he wants Joel to court him, fine. I'm not going to stand in his way._

 

And no matter how much it ate him up, he knew that he'd been too cautious and light-handed with his intentions to complain. He hadn't expressed himself outright and had no claim on the Omega. _He deserves to be happy. And if Joel makes him happy, so be it._

 

Ryan was lamenting on the soap opera that was his life in the break room with his second cup of coffee for the day when Michael came up to him, determination written all over his scrunched up face. He raised a brow over the rim of his mug but didn't say anything. It was always easier to let the Omega talk. He was so very good at it and it was never boring.

 

“So this thing with Joel...”

 

 _This thing with Joel_ , Ryan sneered at the implication but he covered it up behind a slug of coffee.

 

“It's real cute and all how you're letting him find his own way and stuff, but I think he's getting a little caught up,” Michael drawled, leaning on the table and blocking his path. “Don’t you think?”

 

“He's a grown man. I think he'd know if he was getting into something he couldn't handle.”

 

“You don't believe that for a second, you fucking liar,” Michael snapped in his usual too-harsh tone. “When are you going to man up and ask him outright?”

 

“Whenever you do the same to Gavin.” It was a low blow but the Jersey boy easily let it roll off him like water.

 

“That's different.”

 

“It's not.”

 

“You're too fucking smart for your own good, Haywood.” Michael's tongue clicked on the _d._ “You think too much. Ray's yours, we can all see it. So why don't you go in there, kick Joel in the balls, and fuck the shit out of _your_ Omega until he realizes that you two belong together.”

 

The mug clicked loudly off the counter, ceramic threatening to shatter. “You think I don't want that?”

 

“I don't think you want it _enough_ ,” Michael challenged, moving up until he was in the Alpha's face. The fizzy cherry scent that hit him made him snort. “If Joel fucks him because you're too much of a pussy to admit you're in love with him, I'll never forgive you.”

 

“That will _not_ happen,” Ryan swore fiercely, vision nearly going red around the edges at the thought of the other Alpha getting in bed with his friend. An image flashed through his mind of Joel covering Ray, swallowing him up, hands roaming over tan thighs he'd only caught glimpses of. It made him sick right to his core.

 

“It will if you don't dig down deep and find the Alpha that I know is hiding from the rest of us,” Michael needled, digging his knuckle in the curve of the other's stomach. “Putting on some muscle and showing off that stupid iron-clad control of yours does not win courtship rights. You fucking knotheads make all these social rules that no one ever writes down and then you go and don't even bother to follow them.”

 

Ryan looked away and it made the younger man sigh in annoyance. “We're throwing a party in a couple days. You're coming. So is Ray.” He jabbed him harder. “So is Joel. So you're going to show off some God damn Alpha prowess and get that fucking cradle robber away from one of my best friends.”

 

His teeth gnashed so hard they ached. “If Ray is happy with him-”

 

“Then you'll let him follow his heart,” Michael scoffed. “Dumbass. Fall on your sword already, why dontcha'?”

 

o0o0o0o

 

Ray had been on the video podcast before but he'd had weeks to prepare, notes to take, contemplation and deliberate rehearsing and shit. But this had been a last minute addition thanks to Joel ( _thanks, asshole_ ) and he was freaking out. He had no idea what he was going to say. The bullet sheet that had been handing to him was blurred because his eyes wouldn't focus past the constant stream of worry swirling around in his head.

 

He didn't realize the page was shaking until Ryan sat down beside him on the couch. He had a headset on and broken wire in his hand, the offending object having been plucked from one of the cameras when it started to fuck up the audio/video sync. The Alpha carefully took the paper away and laid it on the table, his smile all soft and reassuring. “You okay?”

 

“No,” he admitted, watching the people mill around so sure and determined in what their job was. “I have no idea what I'm doing. I-I've only done this like twice before. What if I'm awful? What if I look like an idiot?”

 

“You won't be awful,” Ryan promised lowly, fixing the boy's jacket and smoothing ou the wrinkles. Once his clothes were fixed he moved on to his hair, fingertips carding through the soft strands to straighten them out. “And you won't look like an idiot. You know it'll get easier once you start on a game tangent. You're the best technical gamer I know and that's all they want. You'll blow them away.”

 

Ray hummed and leaned into the touch, trying not to shiver when the Alpha's strong hands corrected his microphone along his collar and pushed through his shirt to make sure the chord was hidden well. “Ryan? Can I...can we...?”

 

Ryan double checked the light makeup the girls had put on his friend, “Hm?”

 

Ray batted away the hand on his chin and curled his own fingers in the shirt over the Alpha's stomach. He leaned in but hesitated, asking without words to scent. Ryan blinked stupidly before his brain finally registered what the boy wanted. He laid a hand in his hair, messing up his own work, and urged him closer. Ray moaned softly in relief before he buried his face in the Alpha's neck. Ever since the night of his coming-of-status party he'd been asking for it more and more frequently whenever he got overwhelmed or stressed. It was the first time he'd wanted it in public and Ryan was secretly pleased that he'd gotten over his initial embarrassment about it and didn't think twice about clinging to him in front of everyone. It kicked off his protective instincts and he was glad to be able to give him some comfort.

 

While Ray slowly calmed and mouthed lightly at his neck, Ryan caught Joel's eyes across the room. He wrapped an arm around the Omega and tucked him tighter, sighing when the boy melted into his side. _This is how it should be._

 

o0o0o0o

 

Michael's little social game party (or, “Love Night”, as it was called in the office) went off without a hitch but Monday morning came too soon. Geoff seemed to be still hung over and the office was quiet, full of sleepy eyes and yawning mouths. Ryan had slunk off to the break room for another round of coffee but was soon joined by a strangely silent Joel soon after. He was waiting for the machine to brew when the Alpha stood beside him, mimicking his posture like he was prompting him to talk. It was an old trick and he wasn't going to fall for it.

 

Ryan didn't rise to the bait. _I think I need a buddy system for getting coffee._

 

“You and Ray looked really cozy at the party,” Joel pointed out too casually.

 

“It's not my fault you couldn't keep a hold on him.”

 

“I got to see his ass in his boxers. That was nice.”

 

There was a twitch in his eye now. “I'm sure it was.”

 

There was a longer pause before he spoke again.

 

“Probably not as nice as getting to have it in your lap.”

 

“Joel...”

 

“I mean, you held on really tight. I thought you'd hurt the poor kid.”

 

 _I would never._ “He's tough.”

 

“He didn't seem to mind it either.”

 

He shrugged. “We're good friends. And he trusts me.”

 

“So, are you two...?”

 

“It's not really any of your business, is it?”

 

“No, no, I guess not,” Joel said too quickly in that way showed why he didn't quite make it as an actor. “It's just that, you know, we've been spending a lot of time together. And the boy needs an Alpha.”

 

“The fact that you think Ray _needs_ anything shows that you have no idea what you're doing with him,” Ryan scoffed before he could stop it.

 

“I think I know exactly what I'm doing with him.”

 

The suggestive tone made Ryan hands clench into fists, arms crossing over his chest to hide the aggressive gesture. “I'm sure you two will be happy together.”

 

“And that's not going to happen if you keep-”

 

Ryan snapped his eyes at him. “Are you trying to tell me what to do with my friend?”

 

Surprisingly the other Alpha flinched, but it was slight. “I'm not telling you anything. I'm saying that I'm trying to do something here and he...”

 

“Say it,” Ryan demanded. “Say he likes me better.”

 

The older man huffed in frustration.

 

“That's what I thought,” he snorted in amusement, turning his attention back to the gurgling coffee. He had to remind himself to be polite. “You two will make a cute couple. _If_ he wants you.”

 

The catty response made Joel bristle but he choked on his response when another voice filled the room. “Are we talking about Joel's pathetic excuse at trying to date Ray?”

 

“Shut the fuck up, Burnie!” Joel barked with rapidly reddening cheeks, “All your lame-ass attempts on every piece of ass in the office are way more pathetic!”

 

“So you admit it's pathetic?”

 

Joel's voice cracked as he tried to force something out but there was nothing he could say that wouldn't dig his hole deeper. Ryan was pleased to see his friend's potential suitor get smacked down like that but he couldn't help but keep an eye on his boss while he circled around and went to the fridge for the box of doughnuts waiting in there.

 

“Just because you take the kid on a few dates doesn't mean you've called dibs, dumbass,” Burnie stated, fishing out a bottle coffee as well. “Every Alpha in this office has been trying to court him since he presented. No offense, dude, but Ray's a special breed, you know? He needs a finer touch. And I don't think you're it.”

 

“What the hell do you mean 'finer touch'? What the fuck's wrong with him?”

 

Burnie shrugged with one shoulder and popped the cap. “Nothing. He's just a nervous kid. If he's going to choose anyone here, it's going to be someone who doesn't pick at people like you do. Ryan knows, he's got the kid to talk more than any of us. You gotta' be careful with him, right?”

 

Ryan was stunned by the Alpha's observance. He didn't think anyone else had taken notice of Ray's peculiar anxieties except for maybe Geoff. Maybe Burnie was just trying to make up for his behavior lately but it was nice to know he wasn't the only one looking out for their newest Omega's best interest. “He's not glass, but yeah. He doesn't need someone putting him down, not even for fun.”

 

Burnie gave him a nod before taking a drink. “My advice? Get out while you're ahead, Heyman.”

 

Joel looked between them, mouth falling open and closed before he let out a few muttered curses and a sharply puffed breath. His head dropped and he put his back to them, staring at the base of the coffee maker and willing it to hurry the fuck up. He was old enough to compete with either of them but there were different types of Alphas, and right now he was feeling outclassed. Lately Burnie had been pouring off a hella' strong scent that made him steer clear of his friend and Ryan had always possessed a certain quiet intensity that put people off. He flinched away from said Alpha when the man walked up to the cabinet to grab a mug. Two mugs, he noted.

 

Ryan shot him a grin. “I'll make it. Just sugar, right?”

 

He felt like he looked like an angry cat and that only ticked him off more. He made a grab for the mug but Ryan jerked it away, an uncharacteristic smirk on his face. “No, no. Let me do it for you.”

 

“You wanna fuckin' knot me while you're at it?” Joel snapped before he could think about his words. Ryan raised a brow and he bit down on his lip hard enough to make it sting. “Sorry, man, that was dumb.”

 

That smirk grew sharper, that wickedness that Geoff was always joking about during podcasts coming through. “I mean, if you ask nicely...”

 

“The worst thing he can say is 'no',” Burnie teased, winking when the Alpha glared at him. “Don't be shy, Joel. I know Alphas can be intimidating but they won't bite. Not _hard_ , at least.”

 

“Oh fuck you both,” Joel sneered.

 

“Oooh, big words,” Burnie sniggered.

 

Ryan put his knuckles to his lips, hiding his little grin. “We shouldn't bully him like this. He's an artist. Yow know how sensitive they are.”

 

“Yeah, stop the bullying, I hear 'ya.” Burnie made a big show of waving his hand around. It was so much like the way it used to be that Ryan found himself relaxing, even laughing as Joel frowned and threw a little silent tantrum.

 

“Ryan.”

 

His name was drawn out into a whine, the syllables stretching out as Ray appeared around the corner. He looked somewhere between annoyed and defeated. “Ryan, come help us. The server crashed so hard that I think Geoff is going to start crying. _Please_?”

 

“If you stop whining for five minutes and let me get my coffee...”

 

Ray puffed out his cheeks and was about to make a snarky comment when he spotted Ryan's little smile, the curve of his lips somehow taking the heat out of his words. “Just hurry up, asshole.”

 

“Mm.” Ryan poured out a cup. “Burnie, could you...?” The creamer was held out for him, his boss's focus on the doughnut hanging half-out of his mouth. “Oh. Thanks.”

 

“I can help, Ray,” Joel suggested, already walking toward the Omega. He got waved off and stopped. “I know the servers. I can get you guys up and running in no time.”

 

Ray shook his head. “No thanks, Joel, we can wait a minute. Besides, he's Ryan the Fix-It Guy. If he doesn't fix it, then he's not our guy.”

 

“And I'm your guy,” Ryan commented, steam rising from the mug as he added the cold cream.

 

The Omega ducked his head for a moment and when he raised it there was a sweet little smile there. “Yeah. You're my guy. Now hurry up.”

 

Ryan obediently followed him out of the room, turning around and shooting Joel a haughty look over the rim of his cup at the last moment.

 

Joel looked to Burnie for support but the other Alpha shouldered past him as he too left. He grit his teeth and squared his shoulders before his agitation burst out in a sharp yell. “This building's full of assholes!”

 

He heard a faint “ _YOLO!_ ” from way down the hall and it only pissed him off more.

 

o0o0o0o

 

Ray plopped down on his bed, freshly showered and pleasantly warm in just his boxers. The day had been long and he didn't have the energy to play any more Xbox or watch Netflix or anything else he normally did. He'd helped build the set of an _Immersion_ and he'd never hated Pac-Man more. But it was good, he felt like he'd really accomplished something. And he'd gotten to see Ryan wipe his face with the end of his shirt and the glimpse he'd stole of the Alpha's stomach had been worth the entire ordeal.

 

The hum of the A/C filled his quiet apartment and he sighed along with it, letting his hand flop on his stomach. He thought about work, about what he'd have for breakfast, what he'd work on first when he got into the office tomorrow. A free-flow, an unwinding.

 

Nothing in particular crossed his mind when his thumb started stroking over his stomach, fingers idle in their path up to his chest. He closed his eyes and was close to dozing when his fingernail scraped over his nipple. It wasn't much at first but on the third swipe the flesh hardened, peaking under his own touch. He sighed faintly and did it again. This time a little pulse of pleasure echoed through his groin, his thighs, the bottom of his stomach. His hand dragged down his belly, brushing over his navel, before his fingertips skimmed the elastic of his boxers.

 

The first sound of real pleasure passed his lips as he cupped his fattening cock through the thin material. It was a small moan but it made him bite his lip, the usual little flicker of guilt for committing the act going through his mind before it was pushed away with a firm resolve. His thumb worked the sensitive head, cotton dragging against it in a delicious friction.

 

_Eh. Why not?_

 

Ray shimmied out of his underwear and tossed them to the floor. He brought his hand up to give it a nice, long lick from palm to nail before he wrapped it around his hard cock. The sudden, full contact made his hips rock in a mindless search for more.. The strokes were slow, unhurried, and his lashes fluttered as his mind stayed blissfully blank.

 

It was all sensation and slow-build until a particularly deep breath caught a scent. Musk, aftershave, Alpha. _Joel_. Ray groaned and his eyes clenched up. The other man must have rubbed off on his clothes and the items were piled close, just a few feet from where he laid. As he tried to reason that he'd have to throw them in the wash before he went to sleep, his hand never stopped moving.

 

Behind his lids he could see him in his room but he wasn't alone, not anymore. A wide grin flashed up at him as a large, pale hand took hold of him. It was bigger than his own and every stroke seemed to touch him from root to tip. A hot tongue flicked from behind pearly white teeth and lapped over the head of his cock. He jerked and moaned loudly into the empty room while the imaginary form of his coworker settled over his legs and started slicking the line of his dick with that usually sarcastic mouth. His hand fell on his own thigh but in his mind he grabbed soft, dark hair and urged him closer, further, trying to get him to suck him properly.

 

Ray's eyes popped open when he realized he was fantasizing about Joel. His erection flagged and he sat up, brows knitted in confusion. He'd never thought about Joel like that besides the one time when he'd smelled him for the first time. And that'd only been for a few uncomfortable minutes until he'd gotten over his scent.

 

Still horny and more than annoyed with himself, he got up and walked over to his closet. He only had a few things hung up but in the back was Ryan's jacket, the same one he'd left behind when his body had gone haywire. He pulled it out and took it back to the bed with him, tossing it toward the pillows before he found the lube on the dresser. He slicked his cock with a grimace that would have been humiliating if anyone had seen it.

 

Ray got on his knees in the middle of the mattress, one forearm flat on the bed to balance his weight. He spread his legs and canted his hips up, letting himself fall into a familiar fantasy that always got him off. The boring drab of the bedroom melted away and was replaced with silk sheets and tapestries in shades of crimsons and golds. He imagined there was someone else there but this time it wasn't Joel.

 

_Wider, my little rose. Show yourself to me._

 

Ray fisted his cock with his free hand, moaning shamelessly at his own touch as he parted his thighs as far as he could. The cold air of the room touched his balls and hole and it only sent more shivers through him. Sharp blue eyes roamed over every inch of him, watching him, drinking it all in like he was the only thing that mattered. He knew he was taking the whole “mad king” thing too far but ever since that dream, that fanart...it was too easy to fall into it. He knew it was unfair to Ryan but until he got his hands on the Alpha ( _if he ever did_ ) this would have to do.

 

Ray indulged in the voyeuristic hallucination a little bit longer until there was a powerful hum through his entire body, every nerve on fire from the tip of his cock to the base of his throat. He dropped his face down into the bundle of Ryan's coat and the Alpha's scent punched him straight in the gut, pulse throbbing hard in his own palm.

 

“Oh yeah, that's the stuff.”

 

All that warm, hearth-y scent filled his lungs and padded his brain until the fantasy exploded into a thousand pieces. The fragments stayed, sloppily falling over one another and building into a nonsensical mess in the little fantasy world he'd created. Ryan ( _King Ryan_ , he corrected) was the star in all of them.

 

A heel digging between his shoulders blades, forcing him low enough to lick the shining toe of his king's boot.

 

The sting of a hand on his ass, the force of the blow sending him further onto the dinner table. Goblets would spill from the desperate swipes of his grasping hands.

 

Getting fucked on the throne, in front of the guards, in front of their friends ( _knights, keep with the fantasy_ ), in the garden, even in front of the fireplace in his chambers. Velvet and gold and heavy rings passed behind his eyelids. Jewels. A deep laugh. Silken ropes and feather beds and getting bent over every surface for his king's pleasure. Every touch would be rough, possessive, the whorls of his fingerprints burned forever into his skin. He'd hold him open, expose him, force his tight hole open with his tongue and fingers until he positively gaped. Ready and open for his king. _I'm the only one who gets to have you like this._

 

Ray was so lost that he didn't notice the slick between his cheeks until he bore down on a cock that wasn't there. His eyes shot open and the illusion crumbled completely, panic cutting cleanly through the arousal. He sat up and reached back, hesitantly touching the loosened rim of his hole and blushing so hot he thought he would burst into flames when he felt slick there.

 

“That's...new,” he whispered to himself, mortified. He probed a little further. He wasn't soaked but it was the first time something like this had happened. The gushing that happened during his change had just been his body flushing his system with Omegan hormones, just a new normal flow of fluid. This was because he was turned on. It was a different kind of shameful thrill.

 

 _Ryan,_ he thought with a strained moan. _Ryan got me wet for the first time._

 

* * *

 

 **This chapter was too long and I didn't want to make my lovely friend Lara wait any longer (because she deserves some damn happiness for taking cold showers forever), so**  I  **split it into two. The second part is LITERALLY all her idea and I just wrote it out because it's hot. You'll see soon. Drop a comment, kudos, a suggestion. Let me know what you think! Come visit me on[tumblr](http://emono-omae.tumblr.com/) and look at [my shameless selfies](http://emono-omae.tumblr.com/post/91196274691/fucking-selfie-day-over-here-mostly-i-just) with the Mavin necklace I was whining about not having about twenty chapters ago  
**

 


	42. Joel's Courting - Part II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joel's courting rubs Ryan the wrong way and it all comes to a head (and Ray touches himself and is a big ol' slutbucket).
> 
> -
> 
> “Should I act more like you? All prim and proper and cold like a fucking robot? There’s a reason no one likes you but everyone’s too scared to say that you sound like an asshole all the time and no one wants to be friends with a chilly little fuck.”

**Get on my level, guys, we are getting intense here. SUPER ALPHA RYAN. There's an Alpha fight, there's a sexy dream sequence, there's some heavily implied Ryan/Joel and some dream Ryan/Joel. It's a lot. Like, A LOT. Get the fuck in or get the fuck out. For reals. No, I love you guys, I hope you enjoy it.**

**TLDR if you aren't down with the new tags: Ryan gets into a fight with Joel, Ray rejects Joel's courtship, Ryan and Ray have a fluffy moment at the end and get one step to courtship.**

**Also - I've gone through the fic and fixed writing out Gavin's accent. I talked with my friend about and she pointed out that those that have been in the fandom way longer than me (that's you) can get agitated with it. Totally understand, have fixed. Apologies if that annoyed anyone. Luv~**

 

* * *

 

 

A bunch of little things could really build up after a while. Ryan tried to watch the whole thing as impassively as he could and he coveted the alone time he got with Ray but Joel was persistent and damn good at pushing his buttons. Gavin was constantly teasing him about it, making comments whenever he knew the Alpha was trying to keep his cool. It was annoying and got on his nerves, but it was so Gavin so he managed to ignore it. What he couldn't ignore was when Ray would mention something he'd done with the other Alpha. He was confident in himself to keep a lock on his tongue and his heart but there was only so much a guy could take.

o0o0o0o

The day started off with fucking Gavin. _Perfect_.

“He brought him breakfast,” Gavin sing-songed as he slowly spun in his chair, waiting for his computer to boot.

Michael, who looked hungover as fuck tucked into his own seat, just shrugged. “I bring you breakfast all the time.”

“But you love me.” It was said with a confidence that made the Jersey boy pull his hat further down to cover the pink tint to his ears. “Guess that means Joel loves Ray.”

“He doesn't love him,” Geoff countered, a little breathy from the hot coffee he was trying to mainline.

“I think he does,” Gavin needled, watching Ryan try and fix up his little desk by the couch so they could get the _Let's Play_ started. “He's been looking at him...and smiling at him...and Ray's been all nice back. I think he's gunning to have a litter of giant, loud-mouth babies.”

Ryan nearly caught his fingers under the heavy Xbox case but he didn't look up, not when he could feel the Brit watching him.

“And they'd be such pretty little babies, wouldn't they?” Gavin bodily turned around in his chair, chin resting on the laced mound of his fingers. “He's pretty cute, don't you think? For an old fart, I mean.”

“Hey! That 'old fart' is barely three years older than me,” Geoff griped.

“You're top, Geoff, you know that.” Gavin didn't look away from Ryan's bent form, a mischievous glint in his gaze. “But he's just so bloody fit, isn't he?”

Ryan felt the threatening buzz of electricity under his fingertips as he tried not to whirl around and punch the little brat in his big nose. “I think Gavin has a crush.”

Gavin caught his eye and grinned so wide his face threatened to crack. “And I think someone's jealous.”

With a quick kick to the bottom of the chair that no one expected, Ryan sent Gavin to the floor with a whole slew of noises that humans shouldn't be able to reproduce. Michael looked between the two men before he unfurled from his protective huddle and he scooted up to his own computer.

“Michael!”

“You fucking deserved that, Gav, shut up and get to work.”

Gavin huffed when he didn't get a reaction from him, turning his head towards his Alpha instead. “Geoff! Did you see that?”

“Shut up and get to work,” Geoff repeated with a little one-shoulder shrug.

“You're no bloody help.”

Any other time Ryan would've laughed it off and helped his friend to his feet but he wasn't feeling it. Not today.

o0o

Geoff cleared his throat and leaned into the mic. “Geoff audio sync. One, two, three. One, two, three.”

“Jack audio sync. One, two, three. One, two, three.”

Michael's jaw cracked as he yawned straight into his own mic. “Michael. One, two, three. One, two, three.”

Ray, who had arrived late and was cradling an energy drink between his palms, spoke with the metal rim pressed to his lower lip. “Ray sync. One, two, three, two, fuck. One, two, three. Whatever.”

The Alpha admired how cute his friend was at seven in the morning. “Ryan audio sync. One, two, three. One, two, three.”

“Gavin here!” the Brit called brightly into the mic, a devious little smirk on his face. “One, two, three. Ray loves Joel. One, two, three. K-I-S-S-I-N-G.”

The little song made Geoff groaned in annoyance and Ray scowl. “Shut up!”

“Make me!” Gavin mocked in the same whiny voice.

“Children,” Geoff snapped, causing them both to immediately snap back to their computers. One was pouting, the other smiling in triumph.

No one saw the shadow pass over Ryan's face and by the time someone looked over he had carefully schooled his features behind his glasses.

o0o

Ryan stopped by the AH office before he went to lunch, keys in his hands and wallet already tucked into his pocket. It was empty save for Geoff shopping for something on Amazon with a drowsy Michael in his lap. His head was tucked into his Alpha's neck, eyes closed, soft breaths barely disturbing the man's beard. It was cute, it really was, but he felt a twinge of jealousy of not having that. He'd never been the kind of guy to crave all those couple things but with Ray so close (but so far) he'd been indulging in the yearning more often than not.

“Is Ray still here?” he asked quietly.

Michael shifted and his ginger lashes fluttered lightly, half-asleep and a little disoriented. A whisper that suspiciously sounded like _daddy?_ came from his mouth but the other Alpha soothed his boy with a pet through his thick hair.

Geoff smiled sympathetically and his stomach threatened to bottom out. “Joel took him out already.”

“Oh,” he deadpanned.

“Sorry, man.”

“Whatever,” slipped out as he hurried past the door, pushing down the wave of hurt that threatened to crash through his ribs.

_He's not yours_ , he repeated to himself over and over until the letters felt burned across his forehead. The repetition and brutal truth of the statement only made him feel worse.

o0o

“Ryan!”

Ryan chomped down on his lower lip and yanked his hand back, the box cutter clattering to the floor. Little crimson droplets spattered the floor and his pants, the cardboard box he'd been trying to open getting the worst of it. He was a bleeder, he always had been, and he hissed at Lindsay that it looked worse than it already was. But the Omega made a high little worried sound and rushed to get the first aid out of her desk. He glared down at the fattening red blobs as they dribbled down his thumb and wrist. Watching himself bleed was a better option than seeing the scene near the doors. It had only been a second. A second that stunned him so badly he'd forgotten everything he was doing and sliced himself open.

Ray was hanging by the entrance with a few of the guys. Miles and Kerry had gotten him laughing and Caleb had joined in, nothing unusual. But then Joel ( _fucking Joel_ ) had squeezed in and thrown an arm around the Omega's shoulders with that stupidly nice smile plastered all over his face. Joel had pulled Ray close for just a few moments, just long enough to dip his head down and run his nose along the boy's pulse. The Omega had pulled back and smacked him in the chest but his vision had gone tunneled by then and his thoughts were nothing but a furious, inhuman growl of _mine_.

He didn't dare look up for fear of seeing something else. Instead he took the piece of gauze Lindsay handed him and pressed it hard to the wound. It was long, longer than he would have liked, and he the pressure he put on it was probably too much but he was fucking pissed and now he could smell his blood everywhere and that really wasn't helping.

“Jesus, Ryan, what the fuck did you do?”

Ray shouldered past Lindsay and took the Alpha's hand between his own, snapping at him to _leave it alone already_ before he pressed a lot more gently on the cut.

“What happened?”

“Slipped,” he grunted.

Ray raised the bandage long enough to see the cut. “Fuck, Rye, it looks deep. You might need stitches.”

“I won't need them. It's not that bad.”

Ray's sound was softer than Lindsay's had been, thumb rubbing over the Alpha's knuckles. He was about to say something else when Joel came up as well, hands in his hoodie pockets. “What's up, man? Cut yourself?”

“I'm fucking fine.”

Ryan hated the curt, crude sound of his own voice so he took his hand away and walked away. He hated putting his back to Ray and could practically feel the Omega's curious stare weighing on him but he couldn't handle the both of them. It was one thing to mentally prepare himself for the fact that Ray may want another Alpha but it was something else to see them.

He went back to the office, brushing aside Gavin's concern and digging the first aid box out from beneath Geoff's desk. There were a few different boxes and bags underneath the Alpha's desk to prepare for heats and stress days for his boys and any number of Pack Alpha concerns. He was glad for the extent of the kit as he slapped it on the table and flipped it open. He cleaned the cut with a harsh swipe of alcohol and tried not to make a sound when it stung.

“Ryan?” Gavin got up beside him, making a little squawk when the Alpha sprayed the cut with liquid bandage. “Ryan! That has to fucking hurt!”

Ryan shot him a glare and the younger man faltered, drawing back and looking like he'd been pinched or something. He quickly slapped a Band-Aid on it. “Just...stay away from me right now, Gav.”

The Omega nodded and left the room with the hope to figure out what had happened. Ryan bent over the other Alpha's desk, palms braced on the desk and hand throbbing in hot pulses. _This is not my day._

o0o

Ryan didn't often get put in charge of scheduling very often but when he did it was usually when someone else had fucked it up. He was known for being punctual and got things done when it was given to him so he'd become Plan B for most things. He'd taken a small crew of people with him to the back of the office to root for extra equipment. There'd been a small sprinkler issue and a lot of things had been ruined. Matt was out for the day, Burnie was in Boston along with Jack and some of their most useful animators, and Geoff was drinking in his office because he was convinced the world was ending because it had _rained on our Goddamn heads inside, Ryan, I’m not fucking doing this_. They’d just finished filming a particularly tricky _HUNT_ and they were pretty sure the footage had been destroyed by water damage.

So Ryan let had taken the reigns from their usual leader and let him have a quiet sit-down in the office alone (despite Gavin’s protests). He’d taken the other man’s Omegas with him along with Adam and Ray in search of some extra equipment to make sure they had everything they needed to keep going for the rest of the day. It would be a slapdash mess to fix tomorrow but as long they kept schedule he was willing to deal with that.

“Hello, mole people!” Joel bellowed, practically kicking open the door and traipsing in with a big smile smacked on his face and a shiny red apple in his hand. “God, it’s dark in this part of the building. Did you guys find the stuff yet?”

“Pieces,” Adam replied with a look of disdain at a fractured lens he’d scooped out of a box, “I deserve hazard pay, this is ridiculous.”

Ryan got out from beneath the desk where he’d been trying to untangle some wires laced through the metal plating on its back panel. “Did you take care of the cameras already?”

“Yep,” Joel dismissed, walking past the others and bracing himself on the desk beside Ray. “Hey, Ray.”

“Hey, Joel.” Ray waved a spare box of memory cards towards his friend. “I think this was the box Kara was talking about. They should fit the handhelds at least.”

“Good enough.” Ryan adjusted his glasses, slipping them further up his nose. “Joel, are you sure?”

The Alpha tore his eyes away from their appreciative, subtle ogling of the Omega beside him. “About what?”

There was a throb in his temple. If he grew a stress tumor in his brain he was going to name it _Joel_. “The cameras.”

“I put ‘em on towels in front of the big fans, yeah.” The Alpha flapped his wrist at him like he couldn’t be bothered. It felt like a spark against damp kindling. A jab. A threat to his brittle defenses. He carefully took in a breath, counted to three, and released it.

“But did you disassemble them?”

Joel leaned down and bumped his head against Ray’s shoulder. The Omega tried to bat him away but it was just a few playful taps to the thick of his hair. “Define ‘disassemble’.”

Gavin poked Michael on the shoulder and threw his chin at the two Alphas, trying not to say anything that would bring their attention in his direction. _Danger overload_.

“Did you take them apart?” Ryan bit out impatiently.

“Mostly,” he answered vaguely, butting Ray again.

“Hey, asshole, I’m talking to you!”

The shout made even Adam stop what he was doing. Ryan rarely cussed outside videos and the sharp tone threatened to cut through the air. Joel pulled away from Ray and looked at the other Alpha with a constructed expression of boredom.

“I said I took them apart _enough_. I did what you said. I’m not a fucking moron, Haywood.”

“Joel,” Ryan began slowly, fingers clawing briefly before relaxing, “All the cameras need to be broken down as far as possible and grouped with their respective pieces so they can not only dry out but we can put them together more easily tomorrow. Now tell me how those delicate little pieces are going to get dry when they’re still inside waterlogged shells?”

His voice had risen to a near-shout but he managed to cool it back down, but just barely.

“Oh, quit getting your panties in a twist, it’s just equipment.”

“Equipment ruined on _my_ watch.”

Joel stood up straighter. “You’re not in charge here, so don’t even give me that bullshit.”

“Who else is going to take responsibility? You?” Ryan questioned.

“Well, yeah.” The smug smile the Alpha often wore flashed at him. “If you didn’t notice, _Rye-bread_ , I helped build this fucking place.”

“You have a funny way of showing it.” Ryan could feel the white-knuckled grip on his control starting to slip so he pursed his lips and forced himself to ask. “Did you get this week’s _AHWU_ filmed?”

Joel’s lips twitched down. “Not yet.”

“Is the podcast footage rendered?”

“Not yet.”

“And your _How To_ with Adam? Have you even started editing it yet?”

“Not. Yet.”

It felt like a switch was flicked in Ryan’s brain. He suddenly didn’t care what this pompous, _inferior_ Alpha thought of him or anything he did. He wasn’t sure what had just started between them but he was intending to finish it.

“Then what the hell is it that you exactly do around here?” Ryan questioned lightly, getting satisfaction from the way the other Alpha shifted his feet and hunched his shoulders. _Weakness_.

“I operate on my own time, so don’t worry about my shit. It’ll get done.” He punctuated his statement with a crisp bite to the apple he clutched.

“Better not eat too much, Heyman, you wouldn’t want to get fat. You’re already having a hard enough time carrying your own weight.”

That statement broke through Joel’s sarcastic, causal shell and the man colored and seemed to fluff up like an agitated cat. Adam spotted this and spoke up, hoping to defuse the situation before it got too far. “Hey, Ryan, I can get those videos done before the end of the day, no problem.”

“No, Adam, let him own up,” Ryan demanded. “He doesn’t do anything around here but talk a big game and hit on Omegas. I’d like to see if he can do anything else.”

“What exactly are you getting at, man?” Joel challenged.

Ryan’s smirk made Gavin flinch and hide behind Michael. “Maybe I’m saying that you’ve got a pretty mouth, Heyman.”

“You like the way my mouth looks, _James_?” Joel teased viciously, brow arching suggestively at the other Alpha.

“Yeah, _J_ ,” Ryan parodied. “It’s going to be such a shame when someone comes along and fucks you up for it.”

“Oh!” Joel exclaimed with a cocky little chuckle. “Who’s exactly going to do that? You? Mr. Ice Man. Mr. Fix It Guy.”

“Mr. Getting-Sick-Of-Your-Shit,” Ryan added.

Adam waved the Omegas over to the door. “I think we should go.”

“Why? We’re just talking!” Joel promised jokingly, throwing his arms out in a silly motion that did nothing to disguise how pissed he was getting. “It’s a laugh. Ryan’s just pulling my leg because he’s a jealous, emotionally-stunted little bitch!”

“Name calling?” Ryan drawled. “We’re really going to resort to name calling? Should I bite and pull your hair or are you going to enjoy that too much?”

Joel was burning up as he whipped around to face the other Alpha. “You guys think you’re so special with your little, made-up club. The golden crew. With your fanart and your stupid internet followers. You think you can just call dibs on whoever you want and its okay?”

“You’re acting childish,” Ryan scoffed. “I’m not going to argue with you when you’re being petty because you’re not a star or whatever you think we are. The fans love you but you’re too wrapped up in your tantrums to see it. ‘Oh, Burnie, I don’t want to play this game’. ‘Burnie, we _just did_ a podcast’.” His nostrils flared and he wished for a minute he had horns or something to jam right in the other Alphas face for being so stupid. “And you can’t call dibs on a person, asshole.”

“I’m just as good as you or Burnie or any other Alpha here!” Joel blurted, looking as if he immediately wanted to swallow back up the phrase.

“Then quit playing like a kid!” he thundered back, refusing to back down even with the other’s big eyes filled with the same hurt he’d seen in Gavin’s earlier. “You’re a grown man, Joel. For fuck’s sake, start acting like it.”

“Should I act more like you?” Joel matched him in pitch but there was a little tremulous undertone that cut through his intimidation. “All prim and proper and cold like a fucking robot? There’s a reason no one likes you but everyone’s too scared to say that you sound like an asshole all the time and no one wants to be friends with a chilly little fuck.”

Ryan’s skin prickled all over, heat flooding through his system, warming his muscles for something he didn’t want to do.

Across the room Michael opened his mouth to bark something out but Adam laid a heavy hand on his shoulder, making a cutting motion across his neck.

Ryan turned away from the Alpha, heart beating a tattoo on the inside of his chest. “I don’t have time for you today.”

“You don’t have time…?” Joel trailed off in disbelief, mouth hanging open.

Ryan started winding up the cord he’d rescued when something thumped into his spine, a shock of pain making him jolt forward. The impact knocked his glasses off his face, the frames clacking on the surface and skidding nearly to the edge. The apple Joel had brought rolled across the carpet, skin split in two places and sporting a fresh bruise on one side.

o0o

Michael saw Joel draw back his arm and knew exactly what was going to happen. He shoved Gavin out the door. “Yep. Out time. Ray?”

Ray was standing against the wall by them, back flat to it and eyes trained on the two Alphas in the middle of the room. His sleeve got tugged on by the other Omega and he just shook his head. “I’m good.”

“Dude,” Michael whispered, “Two Alphas…you don’t want to get in the middle of that.”

He swallowed thickly. “Really, go ahead.”

Michael rolled his eyes and left with Adam, closing the door behind him. They watched safety through the windows from the other room, blinds cutting out chunks but they didn’t need a clear view to know what was going to happen.

Gavin wrapped his arms around one of Michael’s, clutching him close. “Ryan looks really minged-off. Should we break ‘em up or something?”

Michael brushed his cheek in the other Omega’s hair for a moment in an instinctive impulse to calm him. “Nah, let have at it. But if anyone starts fucking anyone else we’re going to need to get the hose.”

“Ray’s a brave soul,” Adam sighed.

Gavin looked over at the burly Beta. “Why do you say that?”

“Because I’m pretty sure Ryan’s going to crack Joel’s ribs open and eat his still beating heart.”

The Omegas goggled at the older man who only just shrugged.

“It’s Ryan, dude, anything can happen.”

o0o

In the room, Ryan slowly put the cord down and turned on his heels to face the other Alpha. Joel dropped the hand he’d used to throw the apple and threw back his shoulders, chin butting up. It was animistic and instinctive but it was all they were running on now. They locked eyes and there was pure electricity in the air. Nostrils flared, adrenaline shot into their bloodstream, and Joel even drew back his lip to show a snarl of teeth.

“Fuck you, Ryan.”

Ryan wasn’t listening anymore. Memories of getting the shit beat out of him by smug Alphas like Joel swamped him, filling him with all that old rage of getting shunned and picked on because he wasn’t aggressive or big enough to be one of them. He hadn’t scrapped since college where testosterone and beer made for a hormonal nightmare that he’d tried so hard to avoid. He’d always sneered at Alphas who surrendered to the stereotype and settled arguments with physical confrontation. Gnashing teeth and low growls were for twenty-something year old's with no common sense and a pretty Omega to fight over. _Some things never really change_.

“Come here, Joel,” Ryan commanded, crooking his finger at the Alpha as he started toward him. To his credit the other didn't back down but there was a hitch in his breath as he started to realize what they were doing.

“You're not gonna' hit me,” Joel accused, keeping his arms down as the tech Alpha got within reach. “You're too much of a pu – _aagh_.”

Ryan buried his fist so deeply in the other Alpha's gut that he could feel the thump of his heart against his knuckles. It was a heady, addictive feeling and he grabbed Joel's shoulder to force the man down further so he could grind his fist in harder.

“That felt _really_ good,” Ryan admitted breathlessly, growling right into the other Alpha's ear. “I wonder how good it would feel to _keep_ doing it? Want to find out?”

The hook to his jaw caught him by surprise and he stumbled back, fingers dancing over the stinging flesh. It was a sloppy punch, off-center and desperate, but it drove that last nail in the coffin. Maybe it was the stress of the week, the day, or the scent of his own blood earlier – but he was ready for this. He needed this. Every ounce of Alpha within him was screaming for it.

“I'd like to see you try,” Joel panted, left hand rubbing over where he'd been hit.

Wrestling had never been Ryan's strong point but grappling was a bone-deep instinct and it kicked into gear the moment the other Alpha went to tackle him. He stopped thinking and let himself just react. Joel had a little height on him but he was more grounded, more determined, and was beyond sick of dealing with all this fucking tension. It would end now, today, right here. He snatched Joel by the arm and used the momentum to fling him into the nearest desk. He heard the wind rush out of him again and it made him smirk.

“You're a little on in years to be in a skirmish, old man,” Ryan laughed sharply, bouncing on the balls of his feet, astounded at how loose he felt. It was on the wrong side of cruel but it struck the nerves he wanted it to. Joel pushed himself off the desk and a growl echoed through the room. An answering sound rumbled in his own chest.

They clashed and it was quick. Hands grasped at whatever they could. Ryan grabbed the man by his hoodie with the intent to pick him up and push him against the wall but it was too baggy to get any good leverage. There was another sucker punch in the ribs but he didn't do much more than hiss. Joel snapped an insult at him before he threw an elbow, another dirty tactic to try and hit him in the temple. _So he's fought Alphas before too_. Ryan used the move against him and grabbed the man's arm once more, this time yanking it around his back and slamming him straight into the wall. He shoved a thigh between his long legs, pinning the man's own hand in the dip between his shoulder blades, free hand fisting in surprisingly thick dark hair.

And just like that he had him pinned, but the older Alpha was still squirming.

 

“You fight like a bitch,” Ryan slung the word back at him with all the venom he could muster. “This is only going to end one way so why don't you just fucking submit and save yourself some embarrassment.”

“You know what would be fucking _embarrassing_?” Joel spit out with a glare over his shoulder, all hard consonants and sharp cheekbones, “Submitting to some backwoods, Georgia nerd who probably doesn't even have a fucking knot cause he's such a passive aggressive little cunt!”

Ryan inhaled loudly through his nose, a constant rumble like a deadly purr tickling the back of his throat. He let go of the other's hair to hook his fingers in the thick line of his hood, tugging it down until he saw the creamy patch of flesh between the nape of the man's neck and the thick line of his shoulder. “Fine. Take it the hard way.”

A honest to God yelp escaped the older Alpha as sharp, perfect teeth bit down on the sweet spot. His knees shook so badly he thought he'd fall to the floor but Ryan felt it and moved closer, leg pressing hard between his thighs to keep his hips pressed into the wall. He tried to jerk his arm down but it only got twisted up further, sharp pain shooting down into his elbow and into his spine. He tried not to go limp but it was hard when that little monkey part of his brain was ordering him to show belly to the other Alpha. He sucked in a shuddery breath to try and get his strength back when Ryan's scent flowed through his senses. He was warm, almost woody like old whiskey, and it made his mouth water. A flush of mortification came to his cheeks when he realized there was a rush of blood to his dick. _Are you fucking getting turned on by this? Jesus fucking Christ, this is an Alpha! What the flying fuck!?_

__

He pawed at the window trying to get purchase on the glass but it got slick beneath his palm. He could see the others outside, Adam staring open mouthed and the Omegas all big eyes and flushed cheeks. They seemed to like what they saw.

Ryan inhaled deeply, catching every note of the older Alpha's scent. He could smell the age on him but it wasn't entirely unpleasant. Sweat, fading cologne, the fresh plastic of new office supplies, even a hint of fear. Like he knew he wouldn't win this fight. He clamped his jaw harder, flesh hot and yielding under his teeth, and his nose twitched when he picked up something else. _Arousal_. _Pheromones_. His brow furrowed over his furious glower. He released his neck with a little snort of amusement. “You're out of your league, Heyman.”

Joel threw his weight back and caught the younger Alpha off guard. A solid push into Ryan’s chest sent him to the floor and the other covered him quickly, using that damn bit of difference in their size to get the upper hand. Joel’s fingers twisted up in his shirt and a punch was thrown but he blocked it with his forearm and ignored the throb of the blow to concentrate on twisting the man's hand away. It was artless and old-school now, two men trying to get the upper hand in a tangle of limbs. Quick twists and well-placed hooked legs had them flipping each other over and over, blows replaced with attempted submissions. Arms were bent and necks were grabbed at but neither would stay down for more than a few seconds before the other would break free. Ryan's injured hand was grabbed at more than once but he was quick to defend it.

Ryan snarled in agitation when a hand clawed at his face, nails scraping harshly over his cheek and down through the stubble of his beard. He could feel the near silent _zip_ of broken skin and something warm trickled down his chin. He grabbed Joel's hand and pinned it to the floor, digging his thumb in hard enough to make the older Alpha visibly wince. He had his thighs trapped under his weight and the other arm just as stuck to the carpet with a vice grip. He knew how he must have looked but flashing his canines had never felt so good. Joel stared up at him defiantly and tried to yank his arms free but he stopped, going pale before a tiny red flower bloomed in the grey of his hoodie. It took Ryan a moment too long to realize it was his own blood.

“Are you fucking done?” Ryan demanded, watching with rapt attention as another drop fell and landed on the collar of the man's shirt. Without a word the Alpha managed to pry his arms loose and flip on his stomach, moving to crawl away. Ryan wasn't sure what made him do it but he wrapped his arm around the older man's neck and dragged him back, grabbing his own wrist and using it to clamp tight on his windpipe. Joel made a choking noise and reared up on his knees but he didn't let him go far, holding him tight to his own body. “This is a lot of work for someone like you, Heyman. Just fucking _give it up_!”

Joel lasted longer than he thought, body moving against his own in a distracting way that only made him tighten his grip. The rational side of his brain that had taken a break whispered not to hurt his friend, that this was crazy. But the Alpha side was roaring, demanding he win and show this inferior competitor that he was the best. It was base and would disgust him later but the smell of blood and hard-earned sweat was in his nose. His arms were burning and the excitement was coiled so tight in his belly that it hurt. He was so close. _And then I'll be on top and this little pissant will back the fuck off my mate._

The shock of the thought nearly made him lose his grip but he just squeezed his wrist tighter and yanked back to make the older Alpha sputter. _Not my mate. Soon._

A hand tapped on his arm, a little choked _R-Ryan_ coming out and he could feel the strain of the effort under his arm. He released Joel and the man collapsed on the carpet, body heaving as he gasped in desperately deep breaths. His face was all red and the color went all the way down his neck and spilled into the 'v' of his shirt. He looked on impartially as the Alpha's hips stayed in the air, chest nearly down on the floor in a display as he tried to fill his starved lungs.

Ryan grabbed the man's belt and pulled pointedly. Joel went real still and seemed to almost push back before he flipped over. He stared up at the younger Alpha with red, watery eyes and they stayed like that for a dozen heartbeats – Ryan towering over him on his knees, the other laying out in front of him up on his elbows, tortured by his own instincts. Slowly (ever so slowly and with a grimace), Joel lowered himself down until his back hit the carpet. They stared off until a slew of goosebumps crept over the sliver of pale, exposed chest and shoulders.

“Fuck,” Joel exhaled in defeat and turned his head to the side, exposing the line of his throat.

“Say it,” he tisked. He knew it was hard on the other but it had to be done.

Joel's chest rose in a heavy sigh, the word coming out in the faintest whisper. “Alpha.”

Ryan closed his eyes and took another deep breath of the Alpha's smell, now more subdued and reeking of shame. That furl of arousal was still there. He slapped his hands down on either side of Joel's head and dropped, latching his teeth on the largest swell where the scent gland rested. It was a feral, dominant display but it soothed the beastly howling in his veins. It wasn't like the bite before, the one he used to try and make him submit, this was to show everyone else that he had been challenged and won. He had left his scent on him and the other Alpha would stink of him for days. Joel made a weak noise under his mouth and grabbed his arm but he didn't push him away. The man's hips shifted underneath his own and his eyes shot open when he felt a slight bulge against his thigh. _That kinky fucker. I'm going to tease him about this forever._

Ryan released the skin with a soft, wet sound. He raised a palm only to rub it hard over the stark red mark he'd left on the other Alpha. “You deserved that, you cheeky shit.”

“Stop it, Haywood,” the words were scratched out of his swollen throat. “You won already.”

“Hn.”

Joel's eyes went comically wide and he squirmed. “Don't.”

Ryan dipped down to run his tongue over the mark, smirking when he knew he'd seal in his own scent. It was a humiliatingly dominant gesture to do to another Alpha. _That should teach him_.

“I...” Joel visibly swallowed, obviously shaken. “I thought you didn't believe in those old, knothead rules?”

Ryan smacked him lightly on the cheek. “ 'Talk shit, get hit', isn't that the saying? 'Bull with the horns' and all that.”

The younger Alpha got to his feet, ready to leave, when his eyes fell on the young Omega standing by the door. “Fuck.”

o0o

Michael was watching the fight as closely as his friends, eyes seemingly glued to the two Alphas as they went at one another. He jumped when Joel was smacked loudly against the window, Ryan's fierce expression clear over the older man's shoulder. He could feel the quick thump of his heart in the base of his throat but he didn't think too much of it. There were hormones and pure fucking chemicals pouring out from the cracks of the door. He could see Ray pressed tight to the wall, watching the scene more intently than he'd seen his twitchy friend watch anything.

There was sniffing beside him, and then the grip on his arm loosened and Gavin started to walk away from him. Michael quickly snagged the Brit and dragged him back, wrapping an arm around his waist and bringing him back so they were hip to hip. His boy whined in the back of his throat and seemed to be breathing deeper than normal. He snagged his chin and forced him to look at him. “What the fuck are you doing?”

Gavin chittered and it pissed him off. “Use your fucking words.”

“They smell so good, Michael,” Gavin cooed, pupils blown and pink dusted across his cheeks.

Adam huffed loudly and shoved his hands into his pockets. “Well, this is fun and everything, but I'm going to go watch the door. Who knows how long these fucking knotheads are going to be at it. Twenty bucks on Ryan.”

The moment the Beta was out of earshot Michael grabbed Gavin by the back of his neck and pressed his mouth to his ear. “You stop that shit right now, you little slut.”

Gavin stopped wriggling and blinked up at him, the thin ring of green in his eyes so bright and eager that it hit his possessive streak. “I-I...”

“You think that's hot?” Michael growled through grit teeth, yanking the Omega in front of him so he had no choice but to look at the scene. Ryan had chomped down the other Alpha's neck and the Brit exhaled hotly at the sight.

Gavin was admiring it a little too much when his friend's hand slid down to the front of his jeans, fingers cupping the swell of his cock through two layers of clothing. Michael's breath brushed the back of his neck and a quick squeeze made him cry out and nearly double over himself. “Michael!”

He was forced to turn around, the other Omega's gaze searing him from the inside out. “Go fucking take care of that before someone sees you.”

Gavin tried to walk past him, kind of ashamed for getting hard at the sight of his friends fighting, but a solid hand slapping down on his stomach had him swaying into his friend. The hand slid up his chest, thumb skimming his hardening nipple, before it curled around his shoulder and pulled him so the Jersey boy's lips touched his ear again. He almost wished he'd stop doing it just so he could have a minute to think past the haze of Omega need in his head.

“I'm fucking serious.” Michael's nose brushed his cheek before he met the other Omega's gaze. “If one person sees you like this, I'm going to rip their fucking eyes out. Now go jerk off in the bathroom, you little shit.”

A sharp smack to his ass sent him running.

o0o

**  
  
**

“Come here, Joel.”

“You're not gonna' hit me. You're too much of a pu – _aagh_.”

Ray didn't know what he was getting into, Michael had been right, but he wouldn't have been anywhere else in the world if you paid him. It had started off so innocently – a thrown apple that had thumped off Ryan's shoulder blade. And then they went at each other, clothes grabbed and yanked like kids. A punch or two between friends.

Ray had been a few seconds from breaking it up with a joke or some stupid stunt, but it got too real too quickly. Ryan threw Joel against the glass like he didn't weigh anything and bit down on the back of his neck like they were nothing but animals. And it was fucking hot. He pressed the heel of his palm to his mouth to smother his whimper, the other adjusting his swelling cock within the confines of his clothing. He'd never taken his friend for a fighter but Ryan was liquid, a predator, and Joel didn't stand a chance with his shitty, verbal low-blows.

It had pissed him off to hear someone say untrue crap like that to Ryan and he'd been ready to step in but he was glad he hadn't now. This was a much better way to handle Joel. The kicked-puppy sound that came from the older Alpha made his cock twitch and he felt guilty for it but he palmed himself through his pants. It was wrong (so fucking wrong) but he didn't want to stop, and sure as fuck wasn't going to look away.

The way Joel arched and nearly sank to the floor...Ryan's little rough sounds as he sank his teeth into the man's long, pale neck...the subconscious grind of their bodies. The spicy smell of their combined scents was starting to fill the room and when he sniffed harder he could smell something else that had embarrassed him the first time he'd identified it. _Joel's fucking turned on._

He moaned into his own hand, biting down on the joint of his thumb in hopes of keeping quiet. He'd hate himself forever if they stopped because they realized they still had an audience.

Joel surprised them both and managed to throw Ryan to the floor, the younger Alpha tripping over his own feet and skidding to the carpet. Joel threw himself at him and started a grappling match that would forever be burned into the Omega's mind. They were clever, but Ryan had weight and Joel fought dirty. They smacked into the edges of desks and knocked over boxes, heavy grunts punching out of their chests as they outdid one another at every turn. Their lips were pulled in constant sneers and their canines looked sharper in the energy-saving lights, dangerous, ready to dig into vulnerable flesh the moment they got the chance. The swirl of their scents was suffocating, coating his tongue and slipping down into the hollow of his throat. Clothing got rumpled in the struggle, his gaze zeroing in on exposed stomachs and the curved lines of hips. They were twisting around each other so closely, hips inadvertently grinding. He knew it wasn't like that but a boy could imagine.

Ray panted lightly, fingers dragging over his lips, teeth snagging a knuckle and biting down. _They look fucking good_.

Ryan got on top and held his position, straddling the older Alpha and perfectly facing Ray (who sent a little happy prayer to whoever was listening for the happenstance). Acting on the impulse he was seeing in the two Alphas, his hand slipped under his loose khakis and down past the elastic of his underwear. He gasped quietly at the first touch and then again when he looked at his crush – _really_ looked at him.

Ryan always had a certain intense look to him. The stern line of his brow, the thick curve of his jaw, the way he'd purse his lips and adjust his glasses was all one carefully crafted persona that never ceased to amaze him. He was always well put together and calm, quiet when around others, maybe even a bit shy when it came to things he wasn't knowledgeable about. But this was a whole different beast. His gaze, his very expression, was darker than he'd ever seen it. His hair had been swept into his face by the tussle and the fine golden bangs in his eyes made him look like he was capable of anything.

He rubbed a thumb over the head of his cock and bucked softly into his own touch. _I'd jizz in a second if he looked at me like that._

Joel scratched the Alpha's face and little beads of blood came up under his nails. He could smell it almost right away, faint and coppery under the swell of their scents. Ray's eyes fell closed and he stroked himself more firmly, drowning in the fervor of it. Two fighting Alphas, one the hottest man he'd ever seen and the other...well, he looked good for his age. It certainly wasn't a hassle to get off on it.

“This is a lot of work for someone like you, Heyman. Just fucking _give it up_!”

Ray had to bite hard on the side of his palm to make sure his moan didn't break through. That tone...that purely Alpha tone. He wanted that used on him, but maybe ordering him to do something a little sexier. Like in those Mad King fantasies. He shifted his stance and there was a faint slickness where there shouldn't be. He was getting wet from this. _Fuck me, man._

“Fuck.”

A skipped heartbeat. A large breath.

“Alpha.”

The breathy tone made his eyes snap back open just in time to see Ryan lean over the older Alpha and sink his teeth straight into his neck again. This time it was with more purpose, more intent. This was to leave a mark and humiliate him, to show others that he had fought and lost against another Alpha. It was something he read about it in outdated public school textbooks and trashy novels. Joel wouldn't be able to look the other in the eye for a long time. And the way the Alpha moved under Ryan...like he was going to give him more than submission. _Alphas mount other Alphas for dominance. Isn't that what I read? Holy shit. What if...fuck._

Ray ripped his hand out of his pants, seconds from losing it over the thought of Ryan fucking Joel into the carpet to make sure he remembered his place. _This is sick. I'm so fucking perverted, Jesus Christ. What is wrong with me?_

“Stop it, Haywood. You won already. Don't.”

Joel's voice was rough in his ears and it made him shiver. He glanced up and choked on a wanton moan when Ryan licked a wet stripe over the bright red mark he'd left on the other. There teeth indents in the skin and two little spots of color where the canines had dug in.

Ray was too busy eyeing the mark and memorizing it for later fantasies to realize Ryan had gotten up and taken a step toward him.

“Fuck.”

Ray felt his cheeks warm at the sight of the Alpha ( _myAlphamine_ ). He looked positively wild. His hair was a mess and his face was ruddy from exertion, three bright red scratches on his jaw, harsh pants puff from his swollen lips. The half-assed punch to the jaw didn't do much more than fatten his mouth but it was the best injury he'd ever seen. His shirt was rucked up still, exposing the side of his stomach and the lickable line above his belt. _Stop, stop looking. Fuck, I'm gonna blow if he so much as touches me. Shit! How the fuck do I get myself into this crap?_

“Ray?” Ryan breathed, obviously confused. “I thought you guys...didn't you...fuck.”

Ray tried to smile but the sudden wash-out on the Alpha's face took him by surprise.

“You saw that?” Ryan looked gobsmacked, eyes flickering over the carpet and back to Joel. “I just...I just did that. I...oh God. That was...at work... _Jesus_.”

The Alpha scrubbed a hand over his face, sounding like a corrupted audio file. He paced back and forth for a moment before he took off to the door. “I can't be here.”

Ray tried to call out for him but the man was gone, nearly running past Michael on his way out.

Joel sat up from his spot on the floor, discreetly adjusting himself in his pants before touching the new mark on his neck. “Shit.”

Ray realized they were both in a similar situation and decided to just meet it head on. “He's fucking hot, right?”

“Shut the fuck up right now,” Joel snapped without any heat.

“You okay?”

“I'm fine,” Joel raised a leg, hoping to hide himself a bit more. “He's right though. You shouldn't have seen that shit. That was...really dumb and stupid.”

Ray snorted. “You're only saying that 'cause you lost.”

“Would you just-?” the Alpha made a violent gesture with his hand. “Like, give me a minute?”

“You wanna' sit in here and lament over your shattered ego?”

The glare Joel shot him was undermined by the angry mark of another Alpha on his neck.

“Beat it, kid.”

“Whatever, old man.”

o0o

The moment Geoff heard what happened (which was quick, because Adam couldn't help but brag about Joel getting his ass whooped) he left the office and drove over to Ryan's house, practically beating down the door before he just let himself in. He found the younger Alpha slumped on the couch with his face in his hands. The defeated posture knocked the fire out of him and he just calmly sat beside him. It was quiet for a few minutes and he spent it calmly assessing the man's decor, plain and full of tech and pretty minimalist for a creative guy like Ryan.

“So...”

There was no answer so he sighed and nudged him softly with his elbow.

“When was the last time you got into a scrap with another Alpha? Ten years?”

“Eight, I think,” came the muffled reply.

“Kind of embarrassing, huh?”

“Mortifying.”

“And, you know, in front of Ray.”

Ryan groaned at the reminder and curled over his own lap, head nearly hitting his knees. Geoff laid a hand on the man's bag and rubbed slowly up and down his spine, keeping his touch light in case he brushed over one of the many bruises he he was sure the Alpha was going to be sporting in a few hours. There was a heavy brick of worry in his gut and it wasn't for Joel or Ray or anyone else but his friend right now.

“Let me see your face.”

Ryan shook his head.

“Rye, for Christ's sake,” Geoff scolded lightly. _Save me from the stubbornness of Alphas_. Keeping a hand flat on the younger Alpha's shoulder blade, he wedged the other down between his arms and managed to snag his chin. Ryan grunted and half-whined in protest but he let his head be moved up and to the side for the man's inspection. The fingers were firm but there was nothing threatening about it and it was a relief.

“Are you mad?”

“You sound like Michael,” Geoff teased lightly, moving the man's face from side to side very slowly to take in the fat lip and the blood-specked scratches. “You should clean that.”

Ryan grunted but the half-lidded glare he got made him nod. They moved to the bathroom and after a brief hand-smacking contest Geoff got the first aid kit and demanded to do it. Ryan leaned against the counter and stared off at the floor as the man swabbed alcohol over the scratches Joel had left. “Fingernails are filthy as dicks, dude.”

“I'm such an idiot,” he muttered under his breath. “What kind of Alpha attacks their co-worker over some stupid words?”

“The kind who's had a week like yours,” Geoff replied easily, the cotton ball turning pink between his fingers. “This stuff happens in the big boy world. Coworkers challenge each other and usually it's in a lot more public places than what you two chose. These things go on a lot. No one's going to think you're going to rip their throats out.”

“But Ray,” he bit down on the side of his lip briefly. “What if he thinks I'm...I don't know. Joel called me a some shitty things.”

“You're not scary, Rye,” Geoff hushed when a heard a distressed sound building up in the Alpha's throat. “No matter how we tease you, you're just as weird as any of us but no worse off. Ray isn't going to think badly of you. He's worried if you're alright, actually.”

Geoff was dipping the cotton in more alcohol to get the other, smaller scratches Joel had left over the other Alpha's neck and shoulder when he felt a cheek touch his shoulder. The two of them had never scented before, both being Alphas, but Ryan's nose was brushing his shirt and his eyes were closed as he took little breaths.

“Am I...cold?” He hated to hear his friend sound so defeated. “Do people really not like me? I didn’t think I was...I’ve never been…”

Geoff wrapped an arm around his friend and put a hand in his hair, letting him bury his face in his shirt like the boys did when they were upset. There was a shake in the younger Alpha's form and he was afraid he was going to cry but nothing came. “You're not anything like that, Rye. I promise. Christ. Ray wouldn't dig you so much if you were.”

When he spoke his voice was muffled and he could feel the warmth of his breath through his shirt. “I have to apologize. To everyone. I acted like an animal.”

“A hot animal from what Michael said.” He scratched his nails over the younger Alpha's back and felt little pleasant shivers go through him. “He said you looked ready to knot Joel to 'assert his fucking dominance like an Alpha motherfucker', as he put it.”

“I almost did,” Ryan snorted, sounding a little ashamed and still hiding his face. “I think he would've been into it.”

“Huh.” Geoff frowned thoughtfully. “I never would've taken Joel for that kind of Alpha. To each his own or what the fuck ever. Good for him.”

They stood there in the bathroom long after the minor wounds were clean. Ryan silently nosed at the base of the older Alpha’s neck in silent permission. Geoff carded his fingers through light hair and quietly urged him to scent however long he needed.

“You'll come in tomorrow and everything will be better.”

Ryan nodded trustingly but couldn't quite pull away yet. The older Alpha smelled so clean and warm, and like happy Omega. It was what he needed after the flux of hormones earlier – something solid to hold onto. Someone who told him he wasn't a bastard for what he'd done.

_I'll have to get Joel something nice._

o0o0o0o

There was a knock on his door and Joel told them to come in without looking away from his screen. He was watching a few investments in particular to make sure they didn't waver over the next hour and it was a lot better than being out in the office with the stupid mark on his neck. Burnie had grabbed him the moment he'd walked past and snickered over the color of it, of the lingering scent of another Alpha that he couldn't quite wash in the shower this morning.

“ _You smell like a knotted bitch_ ,” Burnie had mocked.

He'd barely managed not to take a swing at his boss. “ _I do not_!”

The other Alpha had shocked the hell out of him by sniffing deeply from his neck then right in front of anyone who happened to look. “ _It's a good smell on you, Heyman_.”

So now he was most assuredly hiding from everyone and definitely not thinking about his new weird Alpha-kink that was undercutting everything he'd ever felt. He was trying to convince himself that he was too old to be in an experimentation phase and too young to be going through some weird mid-life crisis.

His nose twitched before his mouth watered. Buttery warmth.

“Shit.”

Joel looked up and saw Ryan poking his head in, a soft expression on his face. “Hey. Can we talk for a minute?”

The older Alpha huffed out a yes and leaned back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest defensively. He made it a point to look Ryan straight in the eye but the man didn't seem concerned with posturing. He came in quietly and shut the door, a box in his hand. He walked over and set it down in the middle of the desk. Joel refused to acknowledge it and the younger sighed before pulling out the gift. It was a mug but there was something on the side of it.

“Oh.” Joel's eyes got bright when he saw how the light caught the metal on the side. He snatched it up quickly and started looking it over, fingers skimming over the sleek surface and over the little device on the side. He glanced up at Ryan, forcing away the smile that had come up at such a shiny gift. “What is it?”

“It's a new coffee mug you don't have to share in the breakroom,” Ryan explained. “That bit on the side...there's a key. If you don't lock it then there's just a hole in the bottom.”

Joel cleared his throat, lips turning up at the corners. “That's fucking cool.”

“I wanted to say I'm sorry for yesterday. You're my coworker and I respect you too much to let you think I have a lesser opinion of you.” Ryan walked around the desk and set a small silver key in front of the other Alpha. Joel closed his eyes when the younger man moved down until a nose skimmed through his hair. “You're my friend.”

Joel felt a flare of anger at the bold move and Ryan must have smelled it because he immediately moved back and muttered another apology. Their fight played on fast-forward in the front of his mind but what he'd said...what he'd implied...it had been over the line, even for him. And when he glanced up the younger Alpha looked fucking downtrodden, like he'd snapped his olive branch or something.

Joel grabbed his shirt and tugged silently, and once Ryan leaned down he briefly brushed his nose in the hair along his temple. “Fighting is stupid.”

“Fighting is exhausting and brutish,” Ryan agreed, straightening back up. “I feel like a neanderthal.”

“Well, you look like one so...”

o0o

Ray stared down at his phone for the fifth time in twenty minutes. He hadn't seen Ryan since he'd bolted yesterday and he was really getting worried. He'd sent his friend a text asking if he wanted to go to lunch but there had been no response yet. He was alone in the AH office and staring at his blank screen, hoping for a call or a text or some form of communication. He would even take a brief _fuck off_ at this point. He knew Ryan was upset about the Alpha brawl but Geoff had promised everything would be normal.

He sighed up at the ceiling and he let his eyes go unfocused, thoughts wandering. They went back to what he'd been thinking about since the other day – how amazingly _Alpha_ Ryan could be. He knew something like that had been hiding under the surface but he'd seen Geoff mad more times than he'd seen Ryan. The man had that infamous iron-wrought control and to see it come undone was fucking sexy. Especially on Joel.

That line of reasoning got away from him and before he knew it he was crossing his arms on his desk and resting his head on them. His lashes dropped once – twice – and then he closed his eyes to let himself fall into the daydream his devious brain was trying to paint for him. All the little things he'd been mulling over (the flex of Ryan's muscles, the high gasp of Alpha, the way Joel's hips seemed to seek out sweet friction) all built on one another piece by piece until he was back in those royal chambers.

_I'm a fucking weirdo but fuck – it's hot. God damn it._

Ray cracked open and eye and peered at the closed door before he decided to just kill time and let his imagination run wild.

\---

Joel was just another guard, a man he saw everyday but had just recently started seeing him back. Those dark eyes had followed his movements through dinners and down halls. He'd been flattered, really, but he hadn't given it a second thought. The little red wild flowers that grew outside the gate were left on his scrolls and with his gardening tools. He loved them but he always made sure never to show it. They'd spoken a few times but it hadn't been anything solicitous. And when his hand had been kissed he'd convinced himself it had been out of respect for his future status. But his king had seen it.

\---

Ray sighed lightly through his nose, the story weaving itself so easily. Play enough Fable and Skyrim and suddenly you're George R. Martin.

\---

He'd dined privately with his king in the royal chambers that night. Candles flickered warmly on tables and he settled in the large bed alone, Ryan having disappeared after slugging down the rest of his wine with a solicitous smirk. _Stay here, little one. I have a surprise._ He hoped it wasn't another cow.

\---

Ray laughed out loud. _Yeah, this is normal._ But the new tightness in his pants told him he had to be doing something right.

\---

He abandoned his clothes for one of the king's large tunics, letting it settle over his chest and flitter around his thighs before starting to burrowing into the pillows. A silk sheet was dragged up to his cheek just so he could feel it against his skin. He didn't know if he'd be taken this night but he hoped for it. He could smell his Alpha king everywhere and he wanted that inside him, rubbed into his flesh until it was seared in.

The chamber door flew open and he gasped at the sight. Ryan was dragging a very naked, bruised guard in by the rope that was binding his arms behind his back. There was a smear of blood on Joel's cheek, a clear wipe from his split lip. Ryan looked unscathed except for the muss of his hair and the slight breathless rise and fall of his chest.

“Look who I found,” Ryan smirked, dragging Joel across the floor. “You're new beau. Isn't he precious?”

\---

Ray whimpered and rocked his hips against the chair, eyes clenched shut and lip trapped between his teeth. The illusion didn't shatter but it shifted, cutting out the boring bits and focusing straight on Ryan's deep voice and all the filthy things he could say.

\---

He whimpered and clutched at the silk sheet as he watched the two Alphas

Ryan had unlaced his pants and freed his thick, swollen cock. Staring straight into the eyes of his Omega he'd slid easily into Joel's squirming body. The guard was gaping and wide-eyed, held helpless over the edge of the bed. A beautiful flush had taken over his pale skin and his hips constantly twitched against the silk. He was babbling breathlessly, _Please, sire, please don't, I-I've never...please, stop, it's too big._

\---

Ray's mouth dropped open in a loud, shameful moan as he imagined Joel getting fucked into by his friend. Two Alphas rutting, one dominating the other – he'd watched every fucking porn for that on the internet and now he was here making his own. He should have been disgusted that it was two of his co-workers and that he was imagining it in some _Minecraft_ universe, but the grind of his cock against his boxers overrode all that.

\---

“What kind of Alpha moans like that with another man's knot threatening to break their ass?”

Joel was keening now, body sliding against the sheets with every brutal thrust.

“Going after an Omega,” Ryan tisked lowly, barely a hitch in his breath despite the powerful surge of his hips. “You seem perfectly happy with my knot growing inside you right now.”

The guard's struggle renewed, true fear on his face. “Sire, please!”

“Go ahead. Beg for it.”

He bit down on the corner of the sheet as he watched Joel try to form coherent thoughts past the hot slide of their king's cock inside him. “D-Don't knot me.”

It was the greatest humiliation to be knotted by another Alpha but he could see the guard's red-tipped, hard cock rubbing against the bed. He wanted it. He wanted it as badly as they all did.

“But why?” Ryan needled in a honey-sweet voice. “You're doing so well. I bet you can feel it now, can't you? I'm going to fill your sweet little ass and there's nothing you can do to stop me.”

Joel slumped bonelessly on the bed, eyes glazed and barely open. “My king...”

He watched Ryan draw the Alpha guard up and snake a hand down to his hard cock, fingers squeezing hard on the slight swell of the inferior knot. “You don't need this. You're so happy to bend over for me. My cock's enough for you to get all worked up like this, isn't it? More than enough.”

\---

Ray was rocking in his chair almost obscenely, palming his cock hard and panting into his forearm. He hid his guilty blush in the sleeve of his. God, he'd give anything to actually be there, to see something like that.

\---

One question was choked out as the Alpha took his punishment. “Wh-Why, my king?”

Ryan scowled, the playful persona cracking to show the real madness. He fisted a hand in dark hair so painfully he cried out, drag him up until Ray could stare straight into his face. Both Alphas stared at him, Ryan's mouth pushing to the man's ear.

“This is the only way you will ever arouse my Omega,” Ryan rumbled, sending shudders through them both. “Do you understand me, you little bastard? He is not yours to admire. He is mine.”

\---

Ray knew it was wrong and maybe depraved as fuck but his entire body felt like it was on fire. The protective glare on Ryan's face, the punched out moans in Joel's voice – it was choice. It was something he'd be jerking off to for weeks.

\---

With his knot swollen deep within the other Alpha's willing body and Joel panting and face down in the silk, Ryan crooked a finger at his Omega. Ray willingly got on his hands and knees and crawled, the cool air of the room on his naked ass. He moved over the Alpha's long, submitted form and accepted the burning kiss his king put on his lips.

“If you ever touch or talk to him again, it won't be my cock that pierces him,” Ryan threatened idly, lips trailing to his jaw and back up to peck his lips. “Don't worry, my flower. You're next.”

\---

“Fucking shit,” Ray cursed, getting to his feet and spreading his legs to keep the tacky feeling off his thighs. It was strange and new and hot the first time the thought of Ryan had gotten him wet but here at the office it was just embarrassing and sticky. It wasn't a lot but he could feel that it had seeped into his boxers and was starting to stain his pants. He scrubbed his hand over his face with a growing frustration, still horny as hell but now flustered to go along with it.

The door flew open and the rest of Team Lads barreled inside, followed by a perplexed Alpha and a flushed Beta.

“Damn it.” Michael looked around with a frown. “I had twenty bucks saying you were getting your dick sucked. It smells like a fucking brothel in here, man.”

Gavin was staring at him with a burning curiosity but all he could do was swallow loudly and try and hide the tent in his pants. Geoff scented the air and frowned. “You little fuck. What are you doing in here?”

“Nothing,” he squeaked out, immediately clearing his voice and trying again. “Nothing. Just chilling.”

“And thinking about Ryan, probably,” Michael snickered.

Gavin made a noise of sympathy and went to Geoff's desk, fishing out a pack of wet wipes from within one of his little emergency bags before going to his friend's side and slipping them into his hand. “Here you go, X-Ray. Come on, boy, I'll shield you to the loo, yeah?”

Despite everyone's attention on him and the sudden realization that his lustful scent was clogging up the room, he sighed in relief. “Thanks, Vav, you're a friend. Fuck you, Michael.”

He got a wink in return. “Love you too, you horny little fucker.”

Gavin stepped out of the office first to look around but he was looking the other way when Ryan stepped around him and into the room, nearly colliding with the aroused Omega.

“I'm sorry I ignored your text earlier,” Ryan apologized immediately, brow slowly furrowing as the scent started to fill his nose. “I was busy with...with...”

Ray made a startled noise that quickly turned into a happy gasp as he was grabbed by the shoulders and pushed up against the door. It wasn't violent, like he'd seen him do Joel, but was effectively pinned like bug under glass with the man's eyes running over him so thoroughly. “Wait, Ryan, I'm... _ungh_.”

His voice crumbled into a helpless whimper when the Alpha pushed his face into his neck and scented him deeply, loudly. A curious tongue ran over his neck to taste the pheromones that were surely pumping out of his pores. He was about to grab some of Ryan's soft hair and do some licking of his own when something ice-cold splashed him in the face.

Ryan and Ray ripped away from each other, hair and collars soaked from the large bottle of water that Geoff had poured over their heads. The older Alpha glared at the two of them as his Omega snickered in the background.

“Both of you get the fuck out and let me air the room. Jesus-tap-dancing-Christ.”

o0o0o0o

A couple days later after Ryan's mark had faded completely from his neck, Joel made his move.

Ray paused the game he was playing and ignored the way Gavin and Jack watched him closely while the Alpha approached with his usual wide smile. “ 'Sup, Joel?”

“Check this out.” Joel offered the watch he'd been holding and kind of bounced on his toes when the Omega gaped and examined it with an open admiration. “It's got all the cool stuff. Top of the line shit, I swear.”

“You always get the nicest toys, man,” Ray chuckled and tried to give it back but the Alpha shook his head.

“It's for you. I know yours broke the other day and I picked this up.”

“Thanks, wow,” Ray awed but he started to frown as his fingers tapped at the sleek plastic. “Joel, dude, are you courting me?”

“What?” Color flagged on the man's high cheeks and he changed gears. “Well, I...I was going to ask you officially. But I thought that's what we were doing, I guess.”

 

“Ah, shit, dude,” Ray fumbled, quickly handing the watch back. “No thanks. Too bad. It's a sweet watch.”

Joel stared down at the gift with a growing bewilderment. “But...?”

“What?” He didn't want to sound impatient but assumptions always pushed his buttons. “I'm an Omega, you're an Alpha, we hang out a few times and suddenly we're dating? Nah, man. I'm sorry if I led you on or anything.”

Joel fidgeted nervously in front of the Omega. “Is this because I lost to Ryan?”

_Don't think about that too hard. No more boners at work._

“That honestly has nothing to do with it.”

_Though I kinda want to see your dick now. Strictly for science._

“But why?” Joel demanded petulantly, the sting of rejection sharpening his canines.

“What if I was a Beta?”

That seemed to throw the Alpha for a loop. “What?”

“What if I was a Beta?” Ray repeated calmly. “Would you still ask me out?”

“Well...” he faltered.

“Ah,” Ray made a face. “Exactly. You're my friend, J. Always. But you're thinking with your knot. Nothing wrong with that, all for the sexy times and the humpty-hump, but I'm not interested in an Alpha who only wants me because I'm an Omega.”

He started to turn back to his screen when the Alpha countered with a hot, “I do not want you because of that. Not _just_ that.”

“You didn't show one bit of interest in dating me before I presented,” Ray shot back with the same bite, startling the Alpha enough to make him snap his mouth shut.

“Come on, man, you're just embarrassing yourself now,” Geoff stated, one ear of his headphone moved so he could hear the conversation.

Joel knew when he was defeated and shrugged, hands stuffing the watch into his hoodie. “I understand. Are we cool, Ray?”

“The coolest.” He offered his fist for a bump and got it, making the older man smile again. “ _Boosh_. No hard feelings.”

He brushed his thumb across his nose. “Nah. See you later, kid.”

Joel had just stepped out into the hall when he spotted Ryan smugly leaning against the wall outside the office, the smirk on his face showing that he'd heard everything. He rolled his eyes and made himself walk away without looking back. The younger Alpha counted to five before he pushed off the wall and headed inside. Everyone had gone back to their work but he cleared his throat and caught Ray's attention. “Was that Joel? Was there something specific he needed?”

Gavin made a rough snorting sound but he kept his attention on his work.

“Nothing important.” Ray promised. “You, me, dinner tonight. Fried chicken, motherfucker!”

“Well, how can I turn down an invitation like that?”

o0o

Ryan drove them nearly across the city for the best chicken in town. The streets were busy from the after-work rush but they didn't mind. Ray had a foot kicked up on the dash and the Alpha had clucked about it and shoved it down twice but then had left it alone. The CD that started to play was a mix of Gavin's that he'd given them all, an eclectic collection of songs he'd plucked off the internet and all his radio apps.

After the mindless chatter about their days died off and they were still a while from the little restaurant, Ray turned up the dial so they could actually hear it. They'd both heard the song more than a dozen times thanks to their stupid Brit friend but neither minded playing it again. It was catchy and ray hummed along with the chorus.

He looked over at the Alpha and smiled warmly at the handsome profile of his face and the golden stubble on his jaw, pretty blue eyes covered with his ever-present sunglasses. His over-bitten lower lip was getting chewed at again, face to the traffic in front of him. He leaned back casually in his seat, those fingers that he admired so much loosely wrapped along the wheel.

_'Show me someone who says they got no baggage. I'll show you somebody who's got no story. Nothing gory means no glory, but baby please don't bore me.'_

Ray's humming got louder before he started rapping along happily. Ryan glanced over at him a few times and every time he did the Omega just grinned cheekily and sang louder in encouragement. “Come on, Rye!”

Ryan laughed throatily before he slowly began to sing along. Ray chuckled joyously and urged him to sing louder, shoving his shoulder lightly and whooping in victory when the Alpha complied. They sung the chorus together and they sounded awful, voices cracking and laughter mucking up the syllables.

On the second round of chorus Ray reached and gently took one of his friend's big hands off the wheel and brought it down to the armrest between them. Ryan tried not to look away from traffic but he did a double-take as the Omega laced their fingers. Ray beamed back and squeezed his hand, a purely fuzzy feeling taking over him when Ryan broke out into a smile.

“I'm glad I'm here,” he admitted stupidly.

Ryan raised their hands long enough to peck his lips to the back of his hand. “Me too.”

Ray honestly didn't remember the rest of the day but the euphoric buzz in his mind followed him into sleep that night. There was no Mad King to tease or torment, just a sweet Alpha with soft smiles and even softer touches.

* * *

**  
**

**Here's the[song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gNJ5cQGZJQ). It's fucking great once it grows on you.**

 

 **Also - want to hear Joel's[new theme song](http://emono-omae.tumblr.com/post/91503281951) that I listened to on repeat while writing this? *snicker***  

 

 **[Hit me up on Tumblr](http://emono-omae.tumblr.com/)?   
**   **  
**


	43. Ryan and Ray X

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryan's puts his big-boy pants on and fixes a misunderstanding and pops the big question.
> 
> -
> 
> “I would really, really like to kiss you right now.”

**There are so many things to say here, fuck, it's so late at night here.**

**So this is fluffy and everything but I want to warn you guys that it's going to get really kinky and smutty now that things have all but settled into place (there's a little Geoff/Gavin/Michael that needs to be sorted, but they'll be fucking soon). So I'll shout a warning to you if I think things are going to get too much to really handle for those of you who aren't into that sort of thing (like I did for the last chapter). And I'll keep updating the tags as I go to make sure everyone knows what they're in for, so keep checking those.**

**I got a little heart-hurt writing it so I know you'll like it *whispering* please like it**

 

* * *

 

Tina was a good friend of Ray's, one Ryan had only occasionally seen and never really properly been introduced to. He'd wanted to for a while but it had just never worked out. She was an attractive Beta girl and at another time in his life he would have considered asking her out for a date even with the age difference. She was easy to spot – especially when she was striding into the annex with such blazing confidence. It reminded him of Michael and caught his attention. He put on a smile as she headed straight toward him.

“Tina,” he greeted, getting up and offering his hand. “I don't think we've met really. I'm Ryan.”

“Oh, I know who you are.”

Ryan smacked into the cabinets, dumbfounded as the small girl shoved him hard enough to nearly take him off his feet. She smacked a hand against the metal and glared up at him, eyes flashing like lightning behind her glasses.

“Ray is my best friend.” The fierce tone got to him and he pushed tight against the cabinets, backing off from a young Beta when he'd faced down an older Alpha just a few days before. “He's my _favorite_ friend. And now he's an Omega and he's been feeling like a piece of meat since it happened. The novelty of it is going to wear off and then where the hell is he going to be? With some asshole Alpha who just wants his ass?” Her hand raised only to slap harder on the metal, making him jump. “I don't think so!”

“I-”

“He likes you. Like, a lot.” Her expression softened up but it was only for a second. “If you hurt him I'm going to fuck up that nice face of yours, you understand?”

“Tina, I think we're on the same side here,” he explained, staying light hearted as he tried to step away from the drawers. A quick jab to his instep and two palms on his chest had him off balance and right back where he started but with a little less breath.

“What are you expecting out of this, Ryan?” Tina demanded bluntly, hands still flat on his chest, nails threatening to cut through his shirt if she felt the inclination. “Because if you're going to knot or run, I'm going to scratch your eyes out."

o0o

“Come on, Vav, you love Chinese,” Ray needled, dragging the other Omega by the wrist to the back room where the editors lived. Gavin was whining about being a third wheel but Ray knew his friend needed a bit of a distraction with Geoff and Michael gone home to fuck for their lunch. The Brit would never admit to being jealous but he hadn't been able to hide the way he'd bit his lip and watched the couple leave, green eyes hungry and heavy with a rejection that made his friend sick to see.

“You and your Rye,” Gavin tried to tease, letting his friend take all his weight so he was practically dragged, “You both need to just shag already. Bloody frustrating watching you dance circles around each other. We're getting damn dizzy from it. Silly little boy. We're going to have to lock you two in a cupboard or something before too – _oof._ Hey! Ray?”

Gavin smacked into his friend's back, the other Omega having stopped their trip to Ryan's desk. He followed his gaze to said where said Alpha was standing chest-to-chest with a girl with long, brown hair and legs that made his eyes want to wander. He shook himself out of it and realized who it was. “Oi, it's Tina. Let's take her with us. Group outing, yeah?”

But Ray didn't look like he was listening. His fists were clenched but it wasn't from rage. There was resignation there. His jaw and shoulders were tight but there was no anger on his face. Gavin double-taked at the scene and realized the two behind the desk were standing a little too close and their voices were low, intimate, and Lindsay was red-faced as she discretely listened to them. He couldn't hear what they were talking about but Ryan had this dopey little smile on his face and Tina's hands were on his chest, though they dropped after a few moments. The Alpha took one between his own and held on tight, saying something to her so earnestly that Ray made a low noise.

Gavin took his arm and slowly pulled him away. “Come on. Let's just have a date, you and me.”

“Yeah.” He flinched at the deadpan tone. “They look busy. We should leave 'em alone.”

o0o

Gavin spent the rest of the day staying close to Ray despite having Michael between them. He'd get out of his seat or roll over to his side of the desk and scent him, petting through his hair with gentle fingers and nosing at the nape of his neck. Ray pushed back into it, soaking up the contact, but he never got any cheerier. While they recorded he helped his X-Ray out as much as possible and acted sillier than usual, trying to get him to smile.

“Jesus, Gav, you gonna suck his dick or what?” Michael teased in the middle of the _Let's Play_ , ignoring Geoff's little huffed command at JJ to cut that out. “I mean, me and Ryan would enjoy the show and everything, but we're kind of in the middle of something.”

“Don't lump me in with your depravity,” Ryan chuckled, not really paying attention as he tried to fix the redstone switch system Geoff had broken in his haste to build it earlier in the morning.

Michael laughed but once he saw that Ray was just staring quietly at his controller he shut his mouth. “You okay there, man?”

“I'm fine,” Ray promised, picking his head up with a strained smile.

Gavin jabbed the curly haired Omega in the shoulder blade with a wicked sharp look. “You bloody leave him alone.”

Ryan took notice then, pulling his eyes from the screen to look at the Omegas. Ray knew he was being obvious so he made himself perk back up, throwing himself completely into the virtual block world to the point where Geoff had to tell him to tone it down. “Leave some game for the rest of us, kid.”

o0o

Ray was ready to drop into bed and bury himself away from the rest of the world but when he'd gone to walk home he'd been stopped by the Alpha that had been on his mind all day. He'd tried to dart away and avoid looking at him but a single phrase had put reality back into place.

“Are we still on for tonight?”

Ray's stomach had bottomed out right there in the lobby of the office but he'd managed to drag himself back together enough to smile and nod. They'd planned a game night for Dead Space 3 and Crysis 3 because Ray himself had complained about the third installments of media being shit. They were the two newest games and the Alpha had proposed that there might by a something video-worthy buried inside them.

So he hopped in Ryan's car, they got food, and that's how they ended up sitting in the dark on his couch at one in the morning. The glow from the TV spilled over them both, two sets of hands working efficiently over the buttons of their controllers. They hadn't spoken a lot over the past few hours besides some bits about work and the occasional trash talk. Ryan wasn't a big talker to begin with and the silence was only uncomfortable because of the mental anguish in the Omega’s head. He tried not to let it show but it was slipping.

All he could think of was Tina – his knock-out of a best friend – and how nice she was look curled in the crook of Ryan's arm. It wouldn't be the first time someone had gotten close to him to try and get Tina's attention. He'd lost a lot of what he'd considered good friends because of that shit.

“Tina's pretty, isn't she?” Ray asked lamely after nearly thirty minutes of clacking buttons and virtual death screams.

“She is,” Ryan agreed easily, bottom lip getting nipped on as he struggled to aim with his futuristic crossbow. “You're good friends, right?”

“The best,” he admitted with a small genuine smile. _Please don't ask me to ask if she likes you or for her phone number. Not again. Not with you._

“You two seem close,” Ryan noted idly.

“Yeah.” _Better beat him to the punch_. “I saw you two today. Did you score a date?”

The Alpha's laugh was so sudden that he nearly fell out of his seat. It was deep and filled the room, so full of mirth that Ray felt a sweet warmth bleed from his chest out to the tips of his fingers and the ends of his toes. Ryan's character died on screen and they were put back at the beginning of the chapter. As the boring cut scene played, the Alpha quieted down and pressed the back of his hand to his mouth self-consciously.

“A date?” Ryan's chuckle was lighter, more subdued. “No, we were talking about you.”

Ray opened and closed his mouth twice, frowning, before he found his voice again. “Me?”

“Of course you,” Ryan teased, turning his face back to the screen with a fond mutter of _so dumb_. When Ray stayed quiet he looked back and realized the Omega was stunned, eyes wide and shining in the bright in the light of the cut scene, mouth half-open. “She was worried about you. You've been getting a lot of attention lately and she wanted to make sure I had good intentions. I assured her that you were my friend and if anything ever happened that I would treat your heart like fragile China glass.”

Ryan's smile faded when the boy didn't rise to the challenge like he usually did. “Jesus, Ray, why would I date her? She's nice and beautiful and everything but I'm already...”

“Already what?” Ray asked almost too quickly.

_Already dating you_ , hung silently in the air between them. Hearts picked up their rhythms and a new, dizzying scent teased their noses. It didn't have a name but it was a combination of anticipation and nerves, pent-up tension and need, all swirling together until Ray's lashes fluttered. His senses were still sensitive. It had barely been a month since he'd changed and the others had warned him that he'd still be uneasy until he'd gone through his first heat.

Ryan's controller was set on the table as he carefully weighed his options. He thought of Joel and the horrible Alpha spectacle he'd made of himself dealing with his jealousy. There were no more public suitors so if not now, then when? He reached out and slowly took Ray's hand, watching the Omega for any sign that it wasn't wanted. But Ray only shivered, palm sweaty like the boy was nervous, and the controller he’d been clinging to toppled onto the carpet. _He's young_. He sighed as he rubbed his thumb along the inside of his friend's wrist, getting a whiff of his sweet scent. _I have to be so careful_.

“Remember that night at the bar?” he asked softly, trying not to disturb the quiet spell that had woven over them.

“Yeah, do you?” Ray ribbed, but there was a breathless note to it that showed he was more nervous than he let on. Ryan wet his lips and started to lean in, eyes dancing between the Omega's dark eyes and his perfect mouth. It may not have been as plush as the mouths of his last few partners but it was infinitely better. It was carved in perfect too-pink curves and the soft, dark dusting of beard only made it more desirable.

“I would really, _really_ like to kiss you right now,” he confessed.

“But I'm so drunk,” Ray quoted, remembering the night at the bar in vivid detail.

Ryan smile was one of affectionate amusement and it made the Omega return the motion. He was going to crack another joke when the other moved in, taking his mouth in a kiss that made him chuckle all high-pitched and nervous and ruin it. Ray jerked away and apologized but a knuckle tucked under his jaw and turned his head back, lips stealing any other stuttered words. Their second kiss was everything he'd ever wanted. It was sweet, chaste, little prickles of sensation lighting up all over his body. It wasn't his first kiss but it was the first one to ever mean anything. It wasn't aggressive or sloppy or anything else it could've been – there were no insisting hands or teeth to bite. Instead there were butterflies in his stomach and fireworks behind his eyelids. There was the faintest mix of their scents and it was so satisfying that he had to sigh lightly against the Alpha's mouth.

Ryan pulled back and squeezed his hand before he let go. “You're beautiful too, Ray.”

“You need glasses,” he replied immediately, trying to cover up the bird-flutter of his heart and the embarrassment burning his ears and cheeks.

“And you need to learn how to take a compliment,” Ryan countered, some color on his face as well as he snatched up his controller again. He hadn't felt so giddy over a kiss since he was in his early twenties. There was a happy little titter in his fingers but he managed to maneuver his character ahead in the game. He wasn't sure what to do next (in real life, not _Crysis_ ) so he decided acting normal was the best course of action. A hand laid on his thigh and he saw out of the corner of his eye as the Omega got on his knees on the couch and moved closer. The first touch of lips on his cheek made him shudder, going weak under the pure sweetness of the gesture.

Ray braced his weight on the Alpha's heavy thigh, feeling the muscle bunch under his palm. He laid a kiss to the man's cheek, bristles tickling his mouth and cheek. He pressed his nose to the front of his ear, trailing down with the intent to kiss his neck. “Thank you.”

“For what?” He sounded rougher than he would've liked but there was nothing he could do with that warm-icing scent padding up the inside of his head.

“For seeing me when no one else did.”

“Ray?” Ryan turned his head, flashing a uncharacteristically sappy smile, foreheads bumping gently. “I couldn't have missed you.”

A hundred questions whizzed through Ray's head. _What do you want from me?_

He could almost feel Ryan's answer humming in the back of his head. _Nothing you aren't willing to give_.

The video game was abandoned for some shitty Netflix, the throw blanket that Geoff had bought him mid-change tugged off the back of the couch and over them. They sat side by side, Ray's head resting on a broad shoulder and an arm curled over his shoulders. Ryan kept brushing his face in his hair and the Omega would occasionally run his nose over the older man's neck. Their eyes were heavy, the rush of adrenaline leaving them too tired to do much else.

In a horrible lull in the show, Ryan gently took the Omega's chin and tilted his head up for a small kiss. He seemed to do it just for the satisfaction of doing it and Ray couldn't complain. It was more than he could've asked for. He went back to TV and a rough cheek touched his hair. There was a small disgruntled mutter that he couldn't decipher.

“Hm?” he hummed sleepily.

“I didn't want to ask like this,” the Alpha sounded more tired than he had an hour ago. “But...I know I haven't made my intentions clear and I want to fix that. I want to court you.”

Ray choked on his yawn. He sat up and stared at the Alpha with a dropped jaw. Ryan honestly looked sheepish, like he was afraid he'd be rejected. “Officially? Like, really?”

“Of course.”

Ray threw his arms around his shoulders and planted one square on his mouth, both grinning too much for it to really be called a kiss.

o0o

The next morning, after Ryan pecked his cheek at the door and left, Ray had Tina pick him up and they went and got six AM breakfast at the nearest open diner. They didn't really talk at first and they sat at the counter, yawning and picking at their food. Ray was halfway through his waffles before he slung an arm around around her and dragged her in for a half-hug, burying his face in her hair. As a Beta she didn't smell like much more than her perfume but he loved it and it made him smile.

“I'm sorry I hated you for, like, seven hours yesterday.”

“What?” Tina blinked dully at him for a few moments before it all clicked into place. She nearly spit out her eggs as her hands waved wildly in front of her. “Oh, no way Rayray. He's all yours. Fuck, I would _never!_ I was giving the patented best friend talk, I swear.”

“Calm down, dumbass, I know that now,” Ray flipped her hair over her shoulder and chuckled when it got in her food and she cried out. “We, uh...I guess we had a date last night.”

“And?” she prompted eagerly, doing her best to get the syrup out of her hair. “Did you guys – _you know_? You don't smell any different.” She sniffed lightly in his direction. “Happier, maybe. Definitely more calm.”

“He kissed me,” Ray admitted in a happy sigh, knuckle brushing over his lower lip. The ghost of the contact still tingled there.

“And?” Tina pushed again, a naughty grin curling her lips.

“And we watched _Always Sunny_ and talked about a new gaming computer for me, he slept on the couch, and then he went home early to change and shower and stuff.”

“You two didn't fuck?”

“I like Ryan a lot, T, but I'm – uh – not really ready to jump in like that. And he knows that. He asked me to court him. That's like step one in the dating chart."

“Did you guys at least talk about it?”

Ray shrugged. “We didn't have to. God, Tina, he's...”

“He's a gentleman.” She smiled, sucking the sugar from the strands of her hair before tossing it back behind her shoulder. “I kind of got that when I talked to him and he waxed poetry about your eyes and shit. Oh, Ray, that's precious. A good Alpha's respect is hard to earn.”

Ray stabbed a thick bite of waffle. “You know, I only wanted to be an Omega so he would take notice of me. But I don't think I actually needed that. I think he may have liked me before that.”

“Of course he did, you dope.” Tina cuffed him upside the head and when she tried to do it again he laughed and tried to dodge. “You're the best fucking friend I've ever had so I can tell you two balance each other out.”

 

“Alpha and Omega,” Ray joked dumbly, wincing when a piece of sausage whizzed by his head. "Hey!"

 

"Fucking lame."

 

* * *

 

**This chapter inspired by a suggestion I received on Tumblr. Lovely[Good Guy Ray](http://derseandprospitcollide.tumblr.com/) over here. Also sorry I ran away with it like I did.**

 

**"-could you do something like Tina Dayton stopping Ryan outside of Ray's door before a media night and threatening him about Ray. Like a whole "I'm his best friend and if you hurt him I will ruin you" kind of thing. Ryan is appropriately terrified."**

 

 

 

 


	44. The Missing Scene - "Love Night"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So what actually happened on Michael's little party night? What were Ryan and Joel talking about in the break room? Find out.
> 
> -
> 
> “The only rule is no punching. Otherwise do whatever the fuck you want to get away.”

Geoff let his Omega use his house to throw a party. He frowned when Michael selectively invited people from the office but he'd given his permission and he wasn't about to butt into his business. He cooked all the food his boys bought and brought back to the house and made sure there were enough coolers for all the beer. He took stock before everyone got there and he quickly figured out they had enough alcohol to bev up a small army. When he said it out loud Michael only gave him a kiss and a smirk. He wasn't sure what his Omega was planning but it seemed to revolve around Gavin and Ray somehow. He needled him about it but there were only a few mutters and he could only make out something like  _putting people in their place_ and  _showing people what's what_ . It seemed shady as fuck but there wasn't a lot he could do with someone already knocking on the door.

 

o0o

 

 _Jack, Ray, Rye, Chris, Linds, Gavvers, fucking Joel, Barb, Monty, Kerry, wow Josh made it, Caleb, Blaine, MilesandArryn, Geoff._ Michael mentally ticked off. _Yeah, that's everyone._

 

Michael made everyone wait an hour into the party before he decided they were the right amount of drunk to get the ball rolling. He got Ryan and Blaine to push all the furniture to the corners of the living room and against the walls until they had the entire floor to themselves. Even the TV and game stations were put to the side and up on shelves so nothing got spilled on them.

 

“It's time to play a game called _Wink_ , motherfuckers,” Michael declared loudly, watching as Ray finally managed to carol an already-wasted Monty from the back yard to the living room with the rest of them. “Listen the hell up. We're all going to sit in a circle like kindergarten. No sitting beside your favorite people either. We're going to spin a bottle-”

 

“I love spin the bottle.”

 

“Shut _the fuck up_ , Kerry!”

 

The boy snapped his mouth shut and Arryn collapsed into giggles beside him.

 

“So we're going to spin a fucking bottle. First person it lands on has to get in the middle of the circle, second person it lands on has to get in that fucker's lap. You're going to hold onto them as hard as you can because someone else in the circle is going to wink at your lap-buddy and they're going to try their damnedest to get to that winky shit head. It's the first person's job to make sure that shit doesn't happen. If the second person gets out of their grip and gets into the lap of their winking prince – or princess – they get a kiss. No fucking cheating so you actually have to _try_ , okay? You've got, like, a minute and then I'll call it.”

 

Caleb's hand shot up, arm long and lean and waving wildly above his head.

 

“What?”

 

“What are the rules?”

 

Michael felt his eye twitch. “The _fuck_ did I just say?”

 

“I mean to get away.” Caleb was squirming, grinning real big, excited to play around with his friends. “We don't want to hurt each other or anything.”

 

The Omega grinned wickedly. “The only rule is no punching. Otherwise do whatever the fuck you want to get away.”

 

Ray chewed his thumb nail nervously but the rest of the crew seemed more than excited at the prospect. They had a good number of Alphas. Blaine was cracking his knuckles and Miles was nuzzling Arryn's cheek with a teasing grin. Barb was torn between sharpening her nails into claws and whining.

 

“I wish Kara could've made it,” she pouted.

 

Michael waved it off. “It's fine. This game isn't for real adults.”

 

There were protests from Geoff and Joel almost immediately and Adam looked disgruntled.

 

“Shut up, I said _real adults_ ,” the Omega puffed. “Jesus. You guys make videos for a living. Pipe the fuck down. Jordan's already passed out in the guest room cause he drank too much like a fuckin' pussy so he's excused but _everyone_ is playing, got it? Now get in a circle already.”

 

As they all argued good-naturedly about where to sit, Michael turned to his boy and held out a hand expectantly. “Finish that, we're gonna' spin it.”

Gavin looked at his Corona with a little frown. “But Michael, it's half full.”

 

“What did I just say? Fucking drink it. Come on, the game is starting.”

 

Gavin downed it with a few heavy gulps and a wince but he managed. He handed the now-empty bottle over before the light-headedness made him sway.

 

“Good,” Michael barely managed to hide his triumphant smirk. “Go get two more for us.”

 

“I dunno', Michael, I feel a bit legless already.”

 

“Just do it, idiot. And get me one of Geoff's records. We need to spin this on something smooth.”

 

o0o

 

Miles got a hesitant Kerry in his lap but he nudged the Beta's shoulder with his nose and whispered _good luck_ and it got him to smile. There was an unsure pause where Kerry's eyes darted from face to face but then Barbara gave him an exaggerated wink and the game officially begun.

 

Barbara crooked a finger at him encouragingly. “Come on, Kerry, it's a simple crawl.”

 

Miles was a little stronger than he looked and Kerry did his best to twist out of his grip but to very little avail.

 

“You can do it!”

 

Kerry tried to dramatically twirl out of the Alpha's arms and onto the floor but all he did was smush his chest into his friend's face. Chris started laughing at the visual and then Miles started and eventually the two just kind of slumped on each other and tried to breathe through their braying donkey noises.

 

“Here, wait, here, let me-” Barb got up and sat on Miles' shoulder with a triumphant smirk. “There. Perch-fect.”

 

There was a round of groans from the circle.

 

Barbara gave them each a peck on the cheek as a reward.

 

o0o

 

Lindsay got dumped in Adam's lap next and he greeted her with a warm hug around her middle. With a couple shots of sweet cinnamon liquor in her, the Omega was already on that happy level of drunk where her filters were gone. So when Josh winked at her she tried her best to get to her feet but Adam had a secure anchor on hips. She wiggled and did some impressive bending but he just hung on with a little smile on his face.

 

After a minute of the others laughing at her silly faces and effort Lindsay just sat back down in Adam's lap. She hooked an arm around his shoulders and tucked her legs up, flashing a blinding smile.

 

“Can I kiss the person who keeps me?” she asked as innocently as she could.

 

Michael shrugged and the amendment was added.

 

“Good job, Adam,” Lindsay proclaimed before she dropped a kiss to his cheek above the beard.

 

“Thank you, Princess,” Adam laughed sweetly. “I'm just glad you weren't in another castle.”

 

There was a nearly audible _tick-tick_ of hesitation before she pressed a little kiss onto his mouth. The beard tickled her lips and she giggled, causing him to turn a shade of red that blended well into his dark beard. “My wife is gonna' love this story.”

 

Lindsay winked. “Have her come over more often and she can have one too.”

 

There were some catcalls but she just got to her feet and maybe swung her hips a little as went back to the middle of the circle and spun the bottle.

 

o0o

 

Jack was picked to sit in the middle and Geoff watched the bottle slowly round to a stop squarely at him. “Fucking 'A, I got this.”

 

He got up and practically strutted to his Beta friend, turning and plopping down square onto his lap. Jack shrugged nonchalantly as he wrapped his arms around Geoff's waist, forearms cradling his ribs. “You comfortable?”

 

Geoff rolled his eyes. “Dude, I'm only going to be here for a minute, I'm good. You just do your best not to eat my dust.”

 

“Whatever you say, Geoff.”

 

Geoff knew he was drunk and his coordination was a little off but he also knew he could handle his liquor. So when Kerry gave him a wink he made a cocky declaration of _you're getting it square on the mouth you little shit_ and tried to stand up. He didn't move and he had to double check to make sure he hadn't passed out or not tried at all. Jack's arms were anchored around him still and he hadn't gained an inch. He tugged and shoved but Jack's face stayed impressively impassive. He didn't budge.

 

“You – I – but – ” Geoff gaped, trying to figure out how he could carry his boys on his back and in his arms with no problem but couldn't pull out of a Beta's hold. “How are you this fucking strong?!”

 

He gave an embarrassingly struggle but it was no use. He huffed roughly before he just leaned back and sprawled on the Beta. Jack smelled good. Clean, like fresh cotton, and always filled his head with visions of clouds and shit. It was good for cleansing the system and a few breaths of it actually sobered him up a bit. “Fuck it. If I die here, I die here.”

 

Jack started chuckling as he realized he'd won.

 

“Don't expect a kiss, jackass.”

 

“Caiti would kill me.”

 

Geoff snorted. “Don't give me that shit. Caiti would watch and film it.”

 

o0o

 

Unfortunately it was Josh who got the first taste of Michael's rage. The Omega slowly sat down in his lap and the Beta realized that he was practically vibrating with energy. Michael was known to be a livewire but he seemed extra into it tonight. Josh didn't know if there was an ulterior motive behind the game but he wasn't about to get in the other's way.

 

No one bothered to wink. They could sense a change in the air and all different colors of eyes trailed over to where Geoff sat. The Alpha grinned lazily and when he winked it felt like a spark to his flame.

 

Michael looked over his shoulder at his friend. “You're going down, J.”

 

The Omega lashed out, quick as anything, and kicked off the carpet and put Josh on his back, him still on top. There was a surprised yelp but the man's dark, strong arms somehow stayed around the other though a bit higher up on his chest. Michael flipped around in the circle of his grip and yanked Josh's hat down, effectively blinding the Beta. One of Josh's hand came up to move it and he used the moment of distraction to wiggle down the length of his body and get out.

 

Michael practically _flounced_ over to Geoff and dropped into his lap, straddling his Alpha's waist and taking a fistful of dark hair to guide their mouths together. It was a brand, a claim, and the saucy wink he shot at the bewildered Beta afterward only sealed the deal.

 

“What the hell just happened?” Josh panted, hat horribly askew.

 

“I won,” Michael answered simply. “Who's next?”

 

o0o

 

Blaine ended up with lap full of Monty and Lindsay winked and yelled and made grabby hands at him but the drunk Omega just curled up real tight in the man's embrace. As an Alpha, Blaine was more than happy to cuddle him back, but he kindly informed him that they were playing a game right now.

 

“I'll stay,” Monty proclaimed breathily, hands curling in the man's shirt, eyes closed, lips twisted up in a happy smirk. There were good-natured shouted complaints from the rest of the circle.

 

“Come on, Lie, this isn't Too Hot for fuck's sake,” Arryn griped despite her amused grin.

 

“God, you're so fucking cute,” Blaine chuckled, easily gathering the Omega up tighter and getting to his feet. The show of strength visibly made Barbara and Caleb a little hot under the collar but they discreetly looked away and went real quiet. “I'm going to put him in bed with Jordan. Be right back.”

 

o0o

 

It was only a matter of time before it happened.

 

“I got my Michael,” Gavin chirped, tongue thick on his friend's name as he got up from his spot and happily settled in the other Omega's lap. He held his arms up obediently and watched tattooed limbs curl firmly around his stomach. He hummed and snuggled in as the circle started moving to fill in the gap he'd left. A few of their friends were smirking, murmured bets passing between them. There were a few wild rumors flying around the office about the two Omegas being caught scenting each other like more than friends and that Geoff was thinking about taking in both boys. The affectionate relationship between the three of them had turned more than a few heads, every touch the couple left on Gavin being analyzed by the nosy and the gossip-mongers. It wasn't exactly judging but it couldn't be denied that the three of them were hot.

 

“You holding on tight there, boy?” Gavin asked, wiggling around a little to make sure he was secure.

 

“Oh yeah.”

 

There was a long silence in the room as everyone looked at each other, wondering who would dare wink at Michael's boy. Gavin started to pout as he looked around, kind of hurt. “Doesn't anyone want me?” No one would meet his eyes and he huffed. “You're a bunch of wankers. Come on!”

 

Miles downed the rest of his beer and put it aside. “I want you, Gav.”

 

“Here I come, you cheeky little waffle,” Gavin chuckled, trying to get up but found that his boy had a pretty tight grip on him. He shimmied his hips and pushed at his arms but they were clenched, muscle hard under his grasping fingers.

 

Miles whistled suggestively and patted his lap, smirking with all the confidence that alcohol could give. Arryn batted her lashes and nodded suggestively. Gavin cooed at the inviting Alphas and managed to get up on his hands and knees, his best friend holding on and getting up on his own knees to follow him. He was still looking at Miles when the other Omega made his move.

 

Michael was snarling the moment Miles winked. The cocky little fuck. He could still vividly remember the frustrating week where Miles had tried to court his boy and it made his patented rage flare up along with his protective instincts. _Enjoy the show, motherfuckers._

 

Gavin crawled maybe a foot closer to Miles before a hand curled in the back of his pants, laughter cutting off into a high squeak when fingers snagged denim and underwear and knuckles grazed the top of his ass. He was yanked back so hard he cried out, nearly sprawling into Michael's lap. A forearm curled around his throat and another at his waist.

 

“No you don't, bitch. You're mine.”

 

The harshly whispered words and a sharp nip to the top of his spine made him gasp loudly, head falling back to get the pressure off his windpipe. It left him exposed but he no longer had the urge to leave. He was bundled up tight in his boy's arms and he was safe, the sting of of his bite lingering in his skin. He didn't want anything else. Maybe it was the bevs or just the pleasant fizz of Michael's scent in his nose but he let himself be blatantly scented through his hair and further down.

 

Michael made sure Miles was watching as he placed a firm kiss on the thud of his boy's pulse. “I win.”

 

The Brit nodded tightly and he was squeezed almost too tightly. “M-Michael?”

 

He smacked sharply at Gavin's thigh, smirking at the new flood of lust in the air. “Get the fuck up. Next person's turn.”

 

o0o

 

After Gavin put himself back together and smoothed his hair and everything he spun the bottle, scooting back so pretty much everyone could see that he wasn't cheating. “Oop. Rye-bread.”

 

Ryan walked over and sat cross-legged in the middle. He looked around at the wide circle and wondered who was going to be his first victim. He'd played a version of this game in college and he knew it could get dirty really fast, especially when it involved Omegas. He tried not to let his eyes linger on Ray for too long but a little coil of anticipation still settled at the base of his chest.

 

Gavin spun again but this time he didn't move back, face all scrunched up. “Uh...can I re-spin?”

 

“No, you can't fucking re-spin,” Michael grouched. He'd taken a spot beside Geoff and they were quietly holding hands out of view behind his back. “Who is it?”

 

Gavin chewed at the side of his lip. “It's Joel.”

 

“Of course I get an Alpha,” Joel joked, getting to his feet and doing a quick stretch. “Hope you're ready, _Rye-bread_.”

 

Ryan cocked his head at the older Alpha, arms crossed over his chest. “Well, I won't know until you get over here.”

 

Joel approached slowly and Kerry started giggling but Miles quickly shut him up. “Move your arms.”

 

“Get down here.”

 

“Move your arms first.”

 

“Or you could just get down here.”

 

Joel smirked and straddled the Alpha's lap, taking him off-guard. “You like this?”

 

Ryan raised an eyebrow, leaning back on his hands. “Do you?”

 

“I think it's turning you on, Haywood,” he teased, trying to be light-hearted.

 

“I think you're projecting, _Heyman_ ,” Ryan replied sharply.

 

Joel surged forward but weight was thrown and they tumbled on the floor for a few breathless moments. The older Alpha ended up on his stomach with Ryan's knee in the middle of his back but it didn't last more than the time it took Joel to get back his breath and drag himself away. He flipped around and sneered, the two of them squaring off on their knees facing one another.

 

“And that's enough of that,” Geoff took Joel under the arm and made him stand before shoving him back into his seat. “Go back over there. You too.” Ryan's nostrils flared, the first rush of Alpha hormones making him tense all over. “ _Ryan_.”

 

The Alpha snapped out of it, blinking at the older man. “Huh?”

 

“Go back to your seat, you two forfeit a turn.” He made sure Ryan obeyed before he went back to his own seat. “Knotheads. Spin the damn bottle.”

 

Chris jumped up. “Let me do it!”

 

“Okay, kid, fucking do it.”

 

o0o

 

Arryn rolled her eyes playfully when she saw who was chosen for Michael to hold. “Fucking 'Mavin' again.”

 

Gavin squinted at the bottle around Chris's side and saw it was indeed pointing at him. “Did you do that on purpose?”

 

Chris shook his head. “Nah, man.”

 

“Alright,” Gavin agreed, walking toward his boy who looked like the wolf about to get a bird. “You gonna' be good this time?”

 

“Fuck you and get down here.” Michael grabbed him by the base of his shirt and yanked, forcing him across his lap long ways. He instinctively put his arms around his boy's neck despite the rules. Then Michael grinned and it made his stomach tremble in that way it did whenever he got the Omega's full attention. He made himself look away just in time to see Geoff deliberately wink at them.

 

“Welp, here we go.”

 

“What?” Gavin found his world moving and the beer didn't help him stay steady. He clung harder to Michael as he was lifted up into the air bridal style and carried across the circle, his boy showing some serious strength because he didn't waver once despite the mid-hundred pound of Brit hanging on him. A couple of their friends gaped as Michael just sat them both between Geoff's legs. He snuggled up into his Alpha and hugged his boy close, tangling them up a bit.

 

“I win again. Spin the fuckin' bottle of assholes.”

 

“I guess we'll allow it?” Lindsay said it like a question.

 

“Fuck yeah you will, it's my game,” Michael protested, shoving a hand over Gavin's squawking mouth when he tried to explain that this wasn't winning. “Blaine. Spin.”

 

o0o

 

Arryn got put in the middle with her Alpha boyfriend in her lap. She had watched everyone and had a good technique, wrapping her arms around his middle and clasping her own forearms as hard as she could without hurting herself.

 

Kerry winked real big and the struggle began.

 

“No! Kerry!” Miles cried after trying unsuccessfully to get out of Arryn's grip, though from their battles for dominance in bed he already knew she was stronger and craftier than he was when it came to grappling. “We are being held apart but a force I cannot control!”

 

“My love, my heart!” Kerry called back, starting to giggle, “I cannot go on without you!”

 

“And _I,_ ” Miles started to sing, drawing out the sound until his voice cracked, “Will always love... _y-ou_!”

 

“You fucking dorks.” Arryn let him go with a flourish. “Go! Be with your own true love!”

 

“Kerry!”

 

“Miles!”

 

“ _Kerry_!” Miles launched himself onto the Beta and knocked him over, the two of them going to the floor.

 

"No homo," Ray remarked.

 

o0o

 

The next spin had Barbara holding a much larger Blaine with all her might. But the call of Josh was too strong and the male Alpha simply picked her up piggy-back style and carried her over to where the editor sat. He tried to sit them both down on his lap but he fell over, taking the Beta down with them.

 

Everyone was laughing until Blaine took Josh's mouth with a little too much enthusiasm. He opened the Beta's plush lips with a firm press of his thumb to the hinge of his jaw, a hint of tongue peeking as he tasted every inch he had to offer. Josh's beanie was tugged off and the Alpha ran his fingers through his close-shorn hair.

 

The silence was broken by Joel's soft chant of, “Kiss, kiss, kiss.”

 

o0o

 

The bottle landed on Ryan again and Ray’s heart started thumping so loudly he was almost afraid the others could hear it. The brief tussle with Joel earlier had left his mouth dry and he’d been praying to a damn Corona bottle to give him a chance ever since. Ryan’s lap was his favorite spot to be while scenting and it always got his imagination gong of what else they could be doing together. The Alpha’s arms looked better than usual, tight t-shirt clinging to the swell of his biceps and the heavy line of his shoulders. Ray was so busy eyeing the transition from red clothing to pale skin to notice Gavin’s noises. The Brit’s hand waved in front of his face and brought him out of his drooling stare.

 

“Yeah?”

 

“It’s your turn, dope,” Gavin grinned, pointing to the bottle. Ray was confused for a second but quickly saw the tip was pointing at him. He pushed down the swell of arousal and anxious anticipation and managed to get to his feet without tripping over them. Ryan was staring at him with something he couldn’t identify but it made him tingle. His shoe skidded on the carpet when the Alpha threw a smile at him but big hands caught him by the side and arm and carefully lowered him down into the cradle of his legs.

 

“I’ve got you.”

 

“Thanks,” he sighed, keeping his eyes on the floor as he moved his limbs up so Ryan’s arms could snake around him. They were gentle but they covered most of his chest, a contrast to his slim body, nearly swallowing him up. Hearth and wood smoke brushed across his nose and he tried not to shiver. Ryan would feel it with how close he was, broad chest pressed up against his entire back and breath tickling the hair on the nape of his neck. “You okay?”

 

Lindsay whistled and what sounded like a cat purr came from Barbara but it was Arryn who winked at him and held out her arms, sparkly polish glittering in the light.

 

Little did Ray know there was only one thought on Ryan’s mind.

 

_You want him? Earn him._

 

The Alpha’s arm turned to stone around him. Ray reluctantly shifted forward to leave but every muscle was flexed and they were blood-hot under his fingers. He leaned forward and grabbed the carpet, trying to use it as leverage, but it didn’t do any good. “Jeez, Rye, you’re as strong as a fucking bull, man.”

 

“I’m not going to let go of you easily.”

 

Ray fought off a blush and tried again. Ryan made a sound that was suspiciously close to a laugh and moved an arm to cross over the Omega’s chest, clasping his shoulder tightly and easily tucking him in to the protective curl of his body. To Ray’s credit, he did try, but it wasn’t very hard. He let himself be held and it felt good ( _so fucking good_ ), and he reached over his shoulder to stroke through the older man’s hair for one selfish moment. “You win.”

“I guess I should let you go now,” Ryan stated, not at all sounding pleased by the idea.

 

“Yeah, I guess.”

 

Something hit Ray in the shoulder and fell. He looked down to see a shiny, golden Magnum condom sitting innocently beside their knees on the floor. Caleb and Kerry were giving him the thumbs up and grinning like idiots.

 

“You guys are dicks.”

 

o0o

 

Barbara didn’t latch onto Gavin quite as well as she had with Blaine but everyone was getting progressively drunker and it was getting harder and harder to keep their grips and their wits. The Brit wriggled happily in her lap, briefly inhaling the sweet perfume in her hair before getting a lipstick-stained kiss on the cheek. Jack did a dramatic countdown and at ‘two’ Geoff winked at the Omega.

 

“I’m a-comin’, Geoff!” Gavin declared, twisting around in Barbara’s lap until he could bury his fingers in her armpits. She squealed loudly and jerked away, the tickling sensation too much, and a victory squawk filled the room. He started crawling toward his Alpha, giggling so hard his chest was shaking, but Barbara wasn’t about to give up that easily. She tried to snatch his leg but only managed to grab his shoe.

 

“ _Woo_!” Barbara got to her feet and held the shoe high above her head in triumph. “It was my plan all along. I have the Shoe of Destiny! This shoe has traveled across the waters and touched lands the likes of which we’ve never seen before. Huzzah!”

 

The circle started clapping and whooping loudly in triumph. She made a bow in every direction, claiming _thank you, thank you_ like a grand actress. The shoe was tossed in the air and caught again with another bow. “My adoring fans!”

 

Once the cheers died down everyone seemed to slowly realize there was a content humming sound coming from one spot in the circle. Gavin had straddled Geoff’s lap and the two of them seemed to be – for all intents and purposes – making out like lazy teenagers. Gavin was all flushed and pretty, hands flat on the Alpha’s chest as one of the older man’s own rested in the dip of his back to keep him perched on his lap.

 

Joel was the first one to look to Michael but the others soon followed once they managed to look away from the appealing sight. Michael had his chin in his hand and was watching the pair with glassy eyes and a faint smile. But the moment he knew he was being gawked at, he scowled and spat out, “Spin the fucking bottle!”

 

o0o

 

Joel practically crowed when he was picked first and strutted to the middle of the circle, plopping down with a hollered, “Bring it one!”

 

The bottle spun quickly at first, soon slowing down to a few lazy circles until it settled on their newest Omega. Ray looked up from his phone to find everyone staring at him expectantly. “Me?”

 

“Yes, _you_.” Joel patted his leg. “Now get over here before I question my decision to hang out with a bunch of twenty year old kids on a weekend night.”

 

“You’re so fucking old,” Ray shot back, hopping up and walking the short distance. He’d only been picked once before with Ryan and that had turned him into an embarrassing Omegan mess but this was Joel – good ol’ neurotic Joel who smelled like a well-used office and had the looks of a man half his age. He turned and dropped his full weight into the Alpha’s lap, making him huff out a lungful of breath. When the older man’s arms wrapped around him he didn’t get the same little titter of nerves that Ryan had inspired and it was kind of disappointing. _Guess he’s the only one for me._

 

“Ready?”

 

Ray snorted. “I think I should be asking you that. Don’t want to break a hip or anything.”

 

Joel’s arms tightened up, clasping just under the cage of his ribs. “Yeah, yeah, cranky. I’ll give you your binky after we’re done.”

 

“That’s like a sex thing.”

 

Ray was in the middle of laughing at his own joke when he saw Ryan, who was directly across from them, deliberately wink. There was a fizzle through his entire body, a tempting siren song mounting in the back of his mind. It was that same sweet calm he got from secretly scenting with the man and lazing around with him on his couch on their little date nights. He was hypnotized, staring straight into rare Texas-ice eyes as he leaned forward and grabbed the carpet. Joel was holding on but the Omega was determined. He put all his weight on his hands and moved his legs over Joel's legs and braced his socked feet on the floor. He kept looking to the Alpha ( _my Alpha_ ) and let it drive him.

 

Ray didn't feel his teeth grit or his lips pull into a snarl. Muscles coiled, shoulders hunched, and once the tunnel-vision cleared he realized he was stomach-down on the floor with Joel laying on top of him. He felt drunk, drugged, half out of his mind with the pure _need_ to get to Ryan. He knew deep down it was stupid and primal but the smell of the aroused Alphas in the room and the tight arms around his waist fueled those dumb-Omega thoughts.

 

He wouldn't be able to explain what came over him later but once he realized Joel's grip was on his belt his options were narrowed down to one.

 

Ray raised his hips and ignored the Alpha's teasing chuckle and filthy comment about how he felt good beneath him, digging his hands under him and unbuckling his belt and undoing his fly.

 

Arryn squealed in delight and slapped her boyfriend hard on the shoulder when Ray stripped off his shorts, wiggling out of the material. Joel gaped and landed on the floor as the Omega got out from beneath him, getting a brush of vanilla-sweet scent and two handfuls of clothing. He watched Ray's Xbox-logo-boxer-clad ass get away from him and straight to the other Alpha.

 

Ryan welcomed him with a throaty purr, pulling the foggy Omega into his lap and letting him straddle his waist. Ray's eyes were completely blown. Something must have triggered the hormone-drunk state and the younger boy was already half gone. He ignored their audience and wrapped his arms around Ray's slight form and allowed him to bury his face into the base of his throat. He tucked a chin on a mess of dark hair and he was sure the fierce gleam in his eyes was the reason for the others to look down at their phones or at each other. The only person who kept eye contact was Joel and the older Alpha looked somewhere between pissed and turned on. The heat of Ray's bare legs bled through his jeans. He wanted to cup under his thighs and pull him closer but he managed to resist – but just barely. Instead he laid a hand on the back of the boy's neck, the solid touch a sure-fire way to bring him out of his haze.

 

“Don't be a fucking busta',” Michael snarked from across the circle, freckles disappearing in the ruddy color of his cheeks. “Kiss him already.”

 

Geoff smacked his Omega in the head a little too hard. “Leave 'em alone.”

Ray's mouth moved against his neck in a wordless plea for something he wasn't sure of. Ryan was about to show some restraint and rouse the Omega from his little stupor but a warm kiss landed on his cheek and it stole all the protests out of his mouth.

 

“You win,” Ray rasped, sounding rough through his little grin.

 

Ryan glanced at Joel and pried his hand off the Omega's side to hold it out expectantly. “I'll take his pants back.”

 

o0o

 

They took a five minute break to get new beers and let Ray compose himself. Everyone understood – he was a new Omega with a fresh nose and his change had been hard. They put up with the extensive scenting at the office so this was nothing. Joel sucked it up and apologized for what he said and Ray forgave him, giving an apology in return for elbowing him in the ribs.

 

“What?”

 

Ray shrugged.

 

Joel pulled up his shirt and prodded his side, wincing when he felt a sore spot. “When did you get me in the fucking ribs?”

 

“It was a blur, dude. Your bones are slow.”

 

“I'm not _that_ old!”

 

o0o

 

“Yang!” Lindsay mewled for the third time, arm stretched out in front of her before it dropped down to the carpet to get some friction.

 

Caleb growled lightly as he was dragged belly-down along the carpet, arms somehow till around Lindsay’s thighs as she tried to crawl towards a rapid winking Barbara. “You’re giving me carpet burn!”

 

“Your tummy will be gorgeous,” Lindsay promised mid-giggle before she suddenly lunged with new energy toward her friend. Caleb screamed like a little kid as he was rapidly skidded across the floor and nearly got his head sat on when Lindsay parked herself straight onto the blonde’s legs. The others cheered at the victory and the male Omega laughed to himself as he sit up and rubbed the sore skin.

 

“Okay, you win,” he conceded, a hot blush staining his cheeks when he saw that Lindsay had stolen Barbara’s smiling mouth into a slick gloss kiss. He ducked his head but they noticed him staring and, with a shared wink, they each put a kiss to his cheek.

 

“You’re a good sport,” Barb petted through his hair, making his lashes flutter. “Silly Omega boys.”

 

“They’re _so_ sensitive,” Lindsay purred, bussing her nose along his temple.

 

“Hey!” Geoff shouted past his beer. “Don’t make me get the hose!”

 

o0o

 

“Again?” Geoff griped when he was chosen to sit on Ryan's lap. “This bottle has it out for me.”

 

“You got a problem, old man?” Ryan needled, leaning back and gesturing for the Alpha to sit on him. “Scared?”

 

“You fucking wish,” Geoff snarked, sitting down on the younger Alpha's legs. “You're not holding me. There's no way.”

 

Lindsay winked at Geoff and the tumble began, both Alphas squirming and pulling at one another. Ryan actually had to get up on his knees and hold on when the older Alpha managed to stand. But Geoff was too drunk and he wobbled, toppling over and getting pinned. They wriggled around for a little but neither of them were willing to give up.

 

“Fuckin' time,” Michael drawled, checking his watch. “Draw, assholes.”

 

“That's total bullshit!” Geoff called, frowning (more pouting) down at Ryan who was a little out of breath but grinning confidently. “Rematch, asshole! Wrestling match, right now, right here.”

 

“And _that_ sounds like the end of the game,” Michael declared.

 

Their friends got up and stretched, beers getting drained, and they slowly dispersed through the house to use bathroom and whatnot. Some got food, others more beer, and Adam mysteriously disappeared out on the back porch with a red face and the excuse that he had to call his wife.

 

Everything was already moved out of the way so it was easy to decide to do it there. Jack refused to be apart of their little dominance display and went back for mashed potatoes. ( _Potatoes prevent hangovers, Geoff. Trust me._ )

 

Ryan stretched for an unnecessarily long time, flexing his arms and maybe showing off the flat of his stomach when he saw Ray watching him appreciatively. Geoff took advantage of the moment, jumping on the younger Alpha's shoulders with an obnoxiously loud yell and taking him to the ground.

 

Ray was nervous about the two Alphas tossing around each other so roughly but Gavin and Michael just grabbed him by either arm and took him to the couch to sit between them. They told him to shut up and watch, so he did. The Alphas were keeping their claws sheathed (metaphorically) and it really was just a bunch of grappling and hair pulling. Ryan had youth on his side, laughing really hard and play growling. Geoff moved like he'd done this a hundred times before, he'd hate to see what the older Alpha was like sober and ready. Once he understood it was all for fun he found it kind of cute. It didn't put the little flare of heat in his belly like Joel and Ryan's brief fight did. _Family. Pack._ All that silly animal brain stuff that used to baffle him but was slowly sliding into place.

 

Geoff licked Ryan's face and the younger Alpha flailed, calling cheats.

 

“Did you hear about when Rye was hired?” Gavin whispered to Michael over their third's shoulder. “Geoff scented him in the office.”

  
“Yeah, I heard that Ryan was going to punch him in his dumb face.”

 

Ryan tried to tickle his boss but Geoff grabbed his wrist and threw him forward, putting him on his hands and knees. His pants rode down enough to show off the thick top of his boxers. “Fuck.”

 

“Yeah, _fuck_ ,” Geoff mocked, shooting a wink at Ray before he loudly snapped the exposed elastic band. Ryan's sound was surprisingly high-pitched and he flipped around to shove his palm over the other Alpha's face.

 

“Bad Geoff.”

 

They went for a little longer but they wore each other out, the beer getting to Geoff and the hour of the night sapping Ryan out. They laid there together, legs tangled, panting lightly between little bouts of laughter. They each looked ten years younger and Ray wasn't sure he'd ever seen Ryan look so carefree.

 

Geoff tried to ruffle his friend's hair but his hand got batted away.

 

“I'm not one of your boys!” he protested with a grin.

 

“Meh,” the older Alpha shrugged. “You're all boys to me.”

 

Michael launched himself off the couch onto his Alpha, the two of the rolling away from the others with a much more sensual aggression than the two Alphas had displayed. Michael got put on his back and purred, nuzzling Geoff's neck with open adoration.

 

Ryan hurriedly got to his feet. “And that's my que to find something to drink.”

 

The rest missed the way Michael whispered something in Geoff's ear, and the way the Alpha nodded his approval.

 

“Ray? Thirsty?” Ryan nodded, offering his hand to help him up.

 

“Yeah, man.”

 

Ray trailed behind his friend on the short way to the kitchen and got stopped by Joel, the Alpha towering over him with the smell of fresh beer on his breath. “Hey, beautiful.”

 

“Hey, drunky,” Ray jested, dodging around him. Joel whined and caught his arm, asking him to stay. “No, man, we established that rule after last time. No touchy when you're wasted.”

 

“You're so cruel.” But the Alpha let go almost instantly and got a pat on his cheek as a thanks.

 

Ray escaped by way of the island in the middle of the kitchen with Ryan, the Alpha finding them two icy-cold water bottles and two stools. It was a little out of the way from the others and gave them a relatively quiet piece of mind. “Shit, I didn't realize I was this thirsty.”

 

“Wrestling is thirsty work,” Ryan replied lamely, leaning his elbows on the counter. They people watched together, little matching smiles coming to their faces as Blaine organized another drinking game.

 

“Don't you want to get in on it?” Ray asked, gesturing to the small group on the other side of the room.

 

“Nah,” came the easy dismissal. “I had an ale when I got here and that's enough for me. When you saw me at the bar...I was just-” _Kind of lonely._ “-trying to go along with the guys, you know? Geoff is pretty persistent. But I don't particularly care for the taste, or losing high motor functions. ”

 

Ray brightened up. He hadn't known that before. “I hate it too.”

 

“I know,” Ryan realized how weird that sounded and tried to smile it off. “It's a lot more fun to watch everyone else lose their minds and use it as blackmail later.”

 

“You sneaky fuck,” he ragged, elbowing the Alpha lightly. “Guess we'll be sober-buddies, huh?”

 

“How about this,” Ryan proposed, turning towards him some more. “Next time they try to drag me out of the bar, I'll come over to your place for a sober night of fun.”

 

“What kid of fun?” Ray teased, though with a bit more hope in his voice than he would've liked.

 

The Alpha started to laugh but he looked down at the other's shorts. “You got kind of creative in there.”

 

“Oh, yeah.” Ray glanced down to follow his eyes. “I'm sorry about the pants thing. I was kid of showing my ass in there, huh? I think if Joel would've have let go I would've bit him.”

 

“No, it was genius,” Ryan countered quickly, not wanting that kind of doubt to settle in to the Omega's mind. “I don't think anyone minded. They were busy appreciating the view.”

 

Ray's fingers slipped clumsily on the slick bottle. “You think?”

 

The Alpha's blonde brow raised up, the subtle gesture sending a tingle through him that made him bite his lip. “I know for a _fact_. You didn't see them staring.”

 

“That's embarrassing,” Ray muttered, raking up his frazzled confidence enough to look the other in the eye like he had done in Joel's lap. “You, uh, didn't kiss me.”

 

_Fuck! That sounded desperate as hell. Do I look desperate? Shit._

 

“Your first kiss from an Alpha as an Omega shouldn't be in a room full of people.”

 

Ray swallowed his little noise of sudden _want_ and adjusted himself in his pants under the cover of the counter.  _I'm going to die of blue balls by the end of the night._

 

Ryan looked down at his water bottle, fingers fiddling with the side of the label. He remembered Geoff telling him about giving Gavin his first Alpha kiss and wondered briefly if he should suggest something like that. Maybe Ray would want it? They'd scented enough, they'd grown a lot closer these past few months, he'd even helped the Omega through his change. He was the only one who grounded Ray and knew his sweet spot for it. At least, he thought he was. He'd never seen Ray really scent with anyone else besides their little group. The boy was fast becoming one of his best friends and there was always that possibility that they could court one day.

 

He was about to ask but when he looked up Ray had been whisked off by Chris to judge an arm wrestling contest.

 

 _Maybe one day_.

 

He sighed, shoulders slumping.

 

_I'm such a coward._

 

o0o

 

“But I was winning,” Gavin protested in a whiny tone as the other Omega pulled him by the wrist down the hall and away from the party.

 

“Don't you want to scent with me, Gavvers?” Michael asked with a salacious smirk.

 

Gavin perked up and tried to race ahead but he stumbled and smacked into the wall. “Oh no! Michael, I'm _drunk.”_

 

“Yeah you are,” Michael snickered, hooking a finger in the Brit's belt and dragging him further until he got them to the bedroom. The door cracked and an overwhelming wave of cut flowers and spring breezes threatened to destroy his control. He tried to kick it shut behind him but didn't hear the click. _Fuck it. I'm not waiting anymore._

 

“Michael!” Gavin laughed as he was thrown on the bed, bouncing lightly and beaming until he saw that his friend was stripping off his shirt. He had one of those thin white muscle shirts underneath and it only highlighted pale, inked arms with muscle laced through them. His glasses were thrown on a stack of boxed video equipment.

 

“Come here, Gav,” Michael murmured, grabbing the Brit's ankle and dragging him to the edge of the bed. He leaned over him, eyes lingering on where his shirt had rucked up to expose his stomach. The other Omega trembled under the scrutiny but he opened up his arms anyways. They had been scenting more often since that drunken kiss and Michael always smelled so good...and he was thorough, usually leaving him smelling of cherries for at least two days afterward. A denim-clad thigh settled between his own high enough to press against his groin. A grunt passed his lips but he didn't protest when the other Omega's weight rested on him, their hips slotting together perfectly.

 

“Michael!” Gavin squawked as a hand slid up his shirt and teeth scraped along his neck, reddish curls tickling under his chin as sure fingers found his nipple and _pinched_. He thrashed beneath the Omega, the sharp sensation sending blood rushing to his dick. Michael was always a bit rough when he was drunk but he'd never touched him like this before. Maybe accidentally through his clothes but never this blatantly.

 

“I'm just playin', Gavvers, shut up,” Michael growling, mouth already open and wet on the column of his throat.

 

“Y-You said you wanted to scent,” Gavin stuttered, fingers clenching tight in the other's shirt as he tried not to let the other feel how turned on he was getting from all this.

 

“I am,” Michael countered, fingers petting through the pelt on the Omega's chest. “Got to get all those other scents off you. You stink like Miles and Arryn.”

 

“They were being so nice to me,” he mused under his breath, remembering how the couple had been cuddling up to him while he'd been trying to get the hang of beer pong. Arryn's hand had been on the back of his neck, praising him for his shot, when his boy had pulled him away. There was a sudden surge of hips, the other's thigh pushing higher, and all those thoughts were driven out except for _myMichaelmybeautifullittleboy_.

 

“You want me to stop?” Michael's voice was deceptively soft in his ear, a contrast to the insistent grind against his thickening cock. His boy was so hot and firm against him, skin soft beneath his fingers and scent fizzling up through his nose and into his brain.

 

“No,” Gavin croaked honestly, fisting his hand in the other Omega's hair and dragging their cheeks together. “Don't ever stop, Michael.”

 

o0o

 

Ray noticed Gavin and Michael were missing and went looking, too curious for his own good. He expected to find them cuddled up and maybe already asleep but the cracked door to the Brit's room showed so much more. He knew he'd probably burn his eyes but he had to look. The heady scent pouring out of the room was too tempting.

 

“Michael...”

 

“Shh.”

 

“But Michael, it feels so _good_.”

 

“Go ahead, Gav.” Michael sounded wrecked. “Take what you need, boy.”

They were scenting in the lightest definition of the word. It looked like a good old-fashioned make-out session to him but he wasn't going to judge them. If he was honest they were kind hot.

 

Gavin was gasping loudly, writhing underneath Michael as the paler Omega bit and licked at every inch of his neck and collarbone. They were grinding against one another, any sense of grace shot with all the booze flowing through their systems. Michael's teeth left red marks in its wake, a hand shoved up under his friend's shirt to touch everything he could. Michael let go of the tan throat long enough to move up and greedily rub their cheeks, two red-bitten mouths hanging open and panting hoarsely as they were smothered in each other's scent.

 

“Please,” Gavin's whispered, eyes clenched shut to fight against whatever he was feeling.

  
Michael moved closer, hooking his fingers under the other Omega's hip and forcing him higher. Gavin full on whimpered, shamelessly riding his boy's thigh. The smell of their lust was evident and Ray glanced down to see his dick was kind of interested in what was going on. Another breathless cry had him looking up again. Michael had grabbed a handful of the Brit's hair and yanked his head back, pink tongue licking a wet trail from the base of his throat to the clean-shaven tip of his chin. Gavin's hips stuttered, eyes shining and dark, all the green nearly gone from them. He looked ready to spill in his jeans.

 

Ray left them alone and headed back to the kitchen. Geoff was talking to Jack about their next RT short and he went up to him, tugging on the Alpha's sleeve.

 

“Dude, I know you're fucking wasted, but Michael and Vav are in his room and they're...uh...” He bit the side of his lip.

 

Geoff blinked at him a few times, eyes red from the whiskey he'd just polished off. “They okay?”

 

“More than okay, if you know what I mean,” he said quietly, making sure only the Alpha could hear him.

 

“ _Oh_ ,” Geoff realized what he was talking about. “Yeah, when they get drunk they scent. Michael gets a little possessive. It's all the Alphas, you know?”

 

He made a face. “It's not any of my business but I think it's a little more than that.”

 

“Eh, let the kids have fun,” Geoff hummed, pouring another finger of liquor.

 

Ray was trying to understand but it seemed really fucking confusing. Shouldn't Geoff be angry or concerned – or _something_? “Michael's your mate.”

 

“And they're my boys.” Geoff kept his voice calm, reasonable, voice of any of the usual anger that would've come from another Alpha who'd been challenged. “If they want to fool around, let 'em.”

 

“Here, here.” Jack clinked his beer against his friend's glass.

 

It all clicked pretty quickly and a smirk came on the young Omega's face. “Alright you kinky fucker. I don't want to know about the depravities going on with you three.”

 

“Virgin,” Geoff scoffed playfully.

 

“ 'Depravities'. Sounds like Ryan's rubbed off on you.”

 

o0o0o0o

 

Everyone ended up staying the night. Some crashed in the guest room but Barb had managed to convince Geoff to bust out every spare blanket and pillow in the house to create a big pile in the living room. A bunch of sleeping bags were dragged down from the attic and layered on the floor to give it enough padding to let a bunch of drunk assholes sleep rather comfortably.

 

The sun was just starting to come up when Ray woke up. His glasses were still on his face and he didn't remember doing it but apparently he'd stretched out on the couch at one point. He blinked hard to try and clear the sleep from them but they felt glued together. He yawned widely and rubbed them beneath the frames. The light coming through the windows was a soft blue, the night struggling to keep a hold on the city.

 

There was something warm on his stomach and it seemed that he'd acquired a drooly, sleeping Gavin sometime during the night. He had his face buried in his stomach and his arms snaked around his thighs. Ray smiled softly and scratched through soft, brunette hair to make the other Omega hum and burrow further into his body.

 

Ray took a look around. It really had been a sleep-where-you-drop. Kerry had taken an armchair for himself, curled under a quilt with just some sandy-brown locks peeking out. Barabara was snoring and laying on top of Caleb, nose buried in his short hair, the Omega looking content with a pillow tucked under his cheek. Miles and Arryn were cuddling on the couch together, the male Alpha playing little spoon in her arms. Chris was starfished on the beanbag chair beside said couch, drooling heavily with a beer still in his hand and a sharpie heart on his cheek.

 

Josh made a soft little sound, cuddled up on top of a dozing Blaine who was wearing the Beta's hat now. They were sleeping at the base of the love seat that Joel had contorted his long frame into, hood over his head and handsome face peaceful – for once. Little sprigs of hair peeked out and fanned across his forehead.

 

Ray sat up on his elbows and looked down at the floor right beside him. Jack was smack in the middle of the floor, flat on his back in a bed of pillows. He had a little smile on his face and the very end of his hand was touching Ryan's side. The Alpha's chest was rising and falling gently, shirt stretched tight along his pecs. His hair was endearingly ruffled, flopping over his forehead. Geoff was on the other side, cheeks still red, body pressed up tight to his Omega's back. Michael was tucked between his Alpha and couch. He was still down to just his tank.

 

Michael shivered suddenly, goosebumps breaking out over his bare arms. He whimpered quietly and pushed back into the older man. Geoff's eyes cracked open for just a moment before he tucked his Omega in closer and rubbed his hand slowly up and down the length of his arms. “Shh, baby boy...I'm right here.”

 

Michael murmured something that made the older man smile and slip back off to sleep.

 

Ray eyed the spot between Jack and Ryan with a lip caught between his teeth. He slowly wiggled his way out from under Gavin and stepped past his friends, being careful to be quiet. Gavin groaned and stretched like a cat before he flopped down on the full length of the couch. Ray smiled to himself when the Brit's hand fell over the side and laced through Michael's short curls. The Jersey boy was still a little awake and he grabbed Gavin's hand with a loose curl of fingers. He placed a wet kiss on his inner wrist, slowly falling back to sleep with his nose just touching the sensitive skin.

 

He tip-toed over and knelt down between the Beta and Alpha. Jack's limp arm went easily back over his own chest. Feeling sneaky and kind of guilty, Ray shimmied between them and settled on his side facing Ryan. He laid there, pillowing his head on his arms, and breathed in that hearthy scent. It poured into his lungs and filled him up, eyes nearly rolled into the back of his head as he took it in like a glutton for punishment. He wanted so bad to cuddle up to him but he could feel the heat of his body and that was enough. He took off his glasses and put them above his head.

 

Ryan hummed and shifted around, one arm stretching out and easily curling around the Omega. Eyes still closed, he rolled Ray into his side and let out a content sigh. “Ryan?”

 

Ryan's chin grazed his hair. “Go back to sleep. It's early.”

 

“Is this okay?”

 

The Alpha's hand curled around his arm along the warm skin beneath his sleeve. “More than. Bed time, lad.”

 

Ray shoved the anxious feeling he got thinking of the others seeing him this way in a few hours and closed his eyes, falling into the feeling of the Alpha nestled up against him.

 

 


	45. Group III (But really just Geoff and Ryan)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Geoff shows Ryan his place in the pack.
> 
> -
> 
> “You remember all those old knothead rules, Rye?”

****So, I may have written this but I didn't write it if you know what I mean. Blame my bois**** ****, they did this to me. I only wrote like three lines of this dialogue, the rest was them. I'm basically just a gloried filler but it was so fun.** **

 

* * *

 

Geoff really didn't have an ulterior motive for inviting Ryan over after work. He just thought it'd be good for the younger Alpha to brainstorm about his upcoming King Ryan  __Let's Play_ _  and get some practice in with red stone. Michael stayed at his own apartment, a rare occurrence these days, and just scoffed at the idea of a Gents hang-out night.

 

"Yeah, like I want to waste an evening with you two grandpas. Have fun at your lemon party."

 

So the two Gents sat on the couch in front of the TV, the coffee table still pushed to the side of the room from the epic party that was “Love Night” two weeks ago. The rest of the furniture and electronics had been put in their old spots but Geoff had purposely kept the center of the room clear. He was half-sunk into the cushions, whiskey glass balanced on his knee as he watched the other fuck around in the _Minecraft_  world. Ryan was occasionally rattling off ideas but mostly he was just tinkering. It wasn't often he got to to play around in Achievement City. Geoff guarded that thing like it was made out of gold and he never let anyone in it without supervision.

 

Geoff hadn't said it aloud but there was a lingering, unanswered challenge within the AH crew. Decrepit old rules trickled through him, his proud seven-generation-long Alpha blood flowing a little hotter when he thought about what Ryan had done. The younger man had openly mounted and scented an Alpha that he'd perceived as a threat. Geoff knew that the old pack rules from caves and stick huts didn't apply to society anymore but there was this terrible phantom itch on his skin since he'd found out. If Ryan would challenge Joel, would he challenge him?

 

 _That's so dumb_ , Geoff scolded himself, taking another drink. Ryan was his friend and had always been content with his unspoken ranking, he wasn't the kind of Alpha who liked to form little families or packs. From what he heard from Michael, Ryan had proven himself stronger than he looked and twice as fierce as they'd expected. He wasn't one to fuck around with. But neither was Geoff. He hadn't been too pleased when Michael had admitted that the display had turned him on, and that Gavin had to go jerk off in the bathroom just to get himself under control.

 

Since as far back as he knew, Alphas had fought each other over everything. Turf, mates, food, status, anything that couldn't be shared equally. He remembered hearing about it in history class and asking his dad about it, researching it, trying to figure out why a knot made you a bruiser. It had been the most awkward talk with his dad of all time. He'd explained that a fight between two Alphas was complex. It was a show of capability for potential mates, a display of prowess and power. And it was also to put other Alphas in their places. _I know it sounds weird, kid, but sometimes you've just gotta fuck 'em. Nothing shuts an Alpha up faster than threatening to knot them._

 

Geoff had been horrified at the prospect as a teenager. But a hundred National Geographic specials weren't wrong and eventually he accepted it. He'd never done it before but it as more common than a lot of people thought. He'd always believed that sex should come from affection and respect, but he'd seen wily Alphas go from barking to whimpering just from a superior Alpha grabbing their ass.

 

“Maybe if I win a second time it'll be more elaborate,” Ryan set the controller aside, leaning his elbows on his knees and looking at the monstrosity that was his failed wall of arrow dispensers. “Maybe something situational will be easier for the guys. Did we want this to be a two-parter?”

 

“Do you want it to be?”

 

“It is good to be King,” Ryan sighed with a smile.

 

There was a brief blast of music as the door to Gavin's garage room opened and closed. The Omega was humming his way down the hall and passed by them on his way to the kitchen. “Don't mind me, lads, just getting a bev.”

 

But on his way back to his room he stopped at the mouth at the living room, teeth flashing over his lip as his fingers fiddled with the label of the cool beer. “Uh, Ryan?”

 

“Hm?” Ryan threw an arm over the back of the couch, turning his head to look at him.

 

“I never really got to tell you about how, uh, brilliant it was the other day,” Gavin blathered, voice kind of high and nervous. “You and Joel, I mean. He was being a total prick and spouting total rubbish, he deserved it, you know? We didn't want to step on your toes or anything. I know how Alphas are with their fragile little egos. Didn't know how you'd take two Omegas biting Joel's head off in your honor and all that.”

 

“Thanks, Gavin.” He paused to think it over. “I guess.”

 

“But you looked bloody good,” Gavin confessed, cheeks getting a little redder under the faint cover of his stubble. “I kind of thought you two would shag for a minute.”

 

The Omega shifted his weight and there was a distinctly heavy scent drifting through the room. Geoff sniffed sharply and instantly realized what it was. His boy was hot for it and he was staring straight at Ryan, eyes bright and eager on the younger Alpha.

 

“I'm not really proud of it,” Ryan confessed honestly.

 

“You should be,” Gavin was close to purring, lashes gleaming as they fluttered over dark green eyes. “Ray's really lucky to have an Alpha like you courting him.”

 

Ryan chuckled at the implication. “I'm the lucky one, Gav. Trust me.”

 

The Omega kind of fluttered all over before he beat a hasty retreat back to his bedroom. Ryan laughed it off and went back to the game, running his little kilted avatar back toward Achievement City to dump his loot before he saved.

 

Geoff finished off his drink and set it on the side table. “You want to rematch our rematch?”

  
The younger Alpha looked confused. “You want to wrestle again?”

 

“I don't want to get rusty,” Geoff replied, getting to his feet and raising his arms high above his head to shake loose the stuff muscles. “Come on, man. You won the first time, then it was a draw. This old man may just win.”

 

“Aren't you a little tipsy for that?”

 

“Stop being a little baby.” The jest was light and he got poked in the shoulder until he put down the controller again.

 

“Fine,” Ryan caved, getting up, “But don't complain when I accidentally hurt you. I hope I don't break your hip or something.”

 

It was just normal wrestling around at first, stuff teenagers did in their basements over cold pop or the last pack of popcorn. The burned little marks into their elbows and palms and they laughed thoughtlessly when one would get the advantage over the other. There was even some tickling that led to an impressive front roll on Geoff's part. They got increasingly breathless as they tried to get the pin. Dark spots of sweat starting appearing through their shirts and the thick scent of pure Alpha hormones filling the room.

 

Ryan eventually ended up on his back with a tattooed forearm thrown over the span of his chest and no air in his lungs. The older Alpha was between his legs, right arm free to counter any move the other made. The over-the-shoulder flip had knocked the breath out of him and it took a minute to shake off the shock. Geoff was panting softly above him, dark eyes dancing over him sharply to see if he would try to fight back.

 

“Yeah, yeah.” Ryan willingly turned his head, exposing the line of his neck in that age-old sign of submission. “You're Alpha, Geoff.”

 

Geoff didn't move but he did smile, lids falling half-mast from more than booze. “You know a good bit about pack dynamics don't you, Ryan?”

 

The younger Alpha nodded slowly, watching him a bit more carefully now.

 

“Alphas fighting Alpha, man. It's nasty business.” Geoff's voice was a slow drawl, forearm flexing warningly the moment Ryan tried to sit up properly. “Especially with a tight group like ours. There are pack leaders – like _me_ – and subordinates – like _you_ – and when those subordinates start challenging other Alphas, a pack leader can get ideas, you know? Historically, of course.”

 

“Of course,” Ryan echoed, still breathless.

 

“I don't really care for the whole mounting-other-Alphas-for-dominance bullshit, but with guys like Burnie and Joel who just do whatever the fuck they want you have to put them in their places from time to time. You did that so well. Good on you, buddy.”

 

Ryan felt an excited titter of pride in his chest at the words. He knew he was smiling like an idiot but he didn't care. He was almost a little too old to be getting praise from other more aggressive Alphas so it was nice to hear. Geoff always had that kind of effect on him. Maybe it was because he admired his boss so much or maybe it was just for giving him this incredible job when there was another more professional applicant available. Geoff had instilled a sense of purpose in him by shoving him into their little pack and giving him Omegas to look after, showing him boundless trust and always believing in him when even  _he_ had given up on himself. They had a healthy respect and love for one another that came with taking care of the same people.

 

Geoff's hand slid under his thigh and gripped it tight, bringing it up and over. It was slow enough that he could've broke out and crawled away but the look in the Alpha's eyes made him go along with it. He was eased low onto his hands and knees, the older man moving between his legs. There was something suggestive about the actions but they didn't send off any warning signals. There was no aggression, no force, just a soft command that he was willing to obey. He didn't say anything but he made a few, vague noises of protest as the rug bit into his skin and a broad palm settling in the dip of his back. He realized what he must look like and blushed hotly, barely managed to keep his head raised past the pulses of  _shame_ and  _desire_ that went through his frame.

 

When Geoff spoke again his voice was like liquid gravel, the tone pouring into his ears and straight down in the pit of his stomach. “But to show others in a _pack –_  especially after the little display you not only gave  _your_ Omega, but  _my_ Omegas – a Pack Alpha would have to re-instill that submission in his fellow Alpha.”

 

“I didn't mean to...” he cursed how small his voice sounded.

 

The fingers spread out across his back clawed, fingertips digging into his flesh hard enough to make him hiss. “You had my boy touching his pretty little dick thinking about you fucking Joel into the floor. You saw the way he looked at you earlier. He may love me and Michael but he would've bounced on your knot in a second if you'd let him.”

 

Ryan's eyes went wide at the image. He hadn't been trying to do anything more than knock Joel down a peg. He hadn't even known about Michael and Gavin watching until later when they'd both texted him to ask if he was alright or if he needed anything. Ray seeing it all had been a shock, but Gavin getting off to it?  _What the hell?_ A fresh flood of trepidation burned through him.

 

“It wasn't on purpose,” he promised quietly.

 

“I know,” Geoff hushed, hands smoothing out the part of the shirt he'd rumpled. “But if you out-classed me, what's stopping you from taking my Omegas? Michael and Gav were so hot for you the other day. A man can wonder."

  
"Jesus, Geoff, that shit hasn't gone on since the early '90s. No one would... _I_ would never..."

 

"I know you wouldn't," the older Alpha promised. "But it's that Alpha brain. You know what I mean, buddy?”

 

He glanced over his shoulder and saw that Geoff was all smiles despite the delicate, razor edge in his voice. There was no anger but the playful words had a darker undertone that made his heart pick up a beat. Maybe it was the whiskey or maybe it was just old fashioned jealousy, but Ryan wasn't going to start a fight over it. Joel was an asshole sometimes but Geoff had consistently been there for him, provided for him.

 

“Okay, Ryan...you know what to do.”

 

“Submission.” Ryan nodded slightly, dropping down onto his elbows and presenting his neck as best he could. He felt the Alpha move closer and laughed a little nervously under his breath. “What are – Geoff – hey – ” A heavy set of hips pressed against him, the distinct bulge of a half-hard cock dragging along the curve of his ass. He froze, both at the touch and the sound of puttering footsteps.

 

“Geoff? Rye? Are you still playing  _Minecraft_?”

 

Geoff grabbed a fistful of the younger Alpha's light hair and forced his head down, eyeing the back of his pale neck before he glanced at his unofficial Omega. Gavin had stopped dead and was staring at them with curiosity that was quickly morphing into unadulterated lust. Ryan stayed still beneath him, tense all over as he surely thought of how they looked to the younger man.

 

“Daddy's a little busy right now, Gav,” Geoff stated.

 

Gavin bit the side of his finger, eyes dancing all over the two Alphas before he practically ran back toward the converted garage.

 

Ryan made a small sound under the rough treatment and he loosened his hold on his hair, carding through it in a silent apology. He was a good looking guy. It was one of the first things he'd noticed about the younger Alpha when they hired him.

 

“You remember all those old knothead rules, Rye?” Geoff asked, not really expecting an answer as he laid himself along the strong back beneath him. He nudged his nose in the soft hair at the base of Ryan's neck, scenting that wood baked bread smell that clung to every inch of the younger Alpha. He scrubbed his beard and cheek on the vulnerable skin. Their scents were starting to mix and he had to remind himself not to hump the guy like a randy teenager.

 

Ryan was a jittery mass of nerves, skin prickled and sensitive with a surge of adrenaline kicking his heart up to a runner's pace. He could still remember with crystal clarity how satisfying it'd been to have Joel under his teeth and pinned to the ground. He'd done something that could be seen as undermining their pack Alpha and he was being punished for it. “Y-You're not gonna' fucking knot me, are you Geoff?”

  
Geoff went still above him except for the slight nuzzle against his nape. His silence was long enough to make Ryan go frigid, too afraid to move in case he did something to set off the older Alpha. He didn't want to get a punishing bite like the one he'd given Joel. His cheeks burned hot at the thought of Ray seeing the red, submissive mark on his neck. The silence cut through by a low hum of assent to the idea.

 

“Well, Haywood, knotting you would certainly be something a Pack-Alpha would do to insubordinate little Alphas under them,” Geoff mused, feeling a little drunker now with the younger man's scent filling up his nose. It had been two days without his Michael to fuck and his cock was happy as hell to be pressing up against a firm, warm body. “But in your case you seem pretty happy and content under me as is, aren't ya'?”

 

Geoff chuckled low and pleased in the back of his throat as the other nodded again, eager to agree. Hands firm and sure, he slowly bent Ryan further down to the ground until his cheek grazed the floor and he was faintly whimpering as if to appease him. “There we go.”

 

Ryan swallowed a moan as the older Alpha covered him, embarrassed beyond belief that his ass was still up like a bitch ready to be mounted. All higher brain function was slipping away too quickly for him to even  __try_ _  and get it back. He licked his dry lips and tried his best not to get overwhelmed by Geoff's scent. It was hard. Now he knew why Gavin and Michael got those glazed looks whenever the older Alpha would whisper in their ears. His boss was giving off dominance in waves and he bared his neck again when an insistent mouth started roaming. Geoff's blood hot tongue lapped over his pulse on both sides, littering filthy kisses and nuzzles over whatever he could reach. He knew the other could smell his fear but it was getting brushed away with each touch.

 

“If you...” Ryan couldn't make himself say it, his own tongue feeling heavy behind his teeth. He thought spreading his legs and getting knotted in the Alpha's living room and he was ashamed at the flash of heat that spread through his belly. “Don't do it in front of Ray. Please, Geoff.”

 

Geoff's hand dropped beside his head, tattooed fingers laying over his own that were dug into the carpet. “I wouldn't do that in front of your boy. Don't you worry.”

 

There was a tense moment between them. Geoff was so hot and close. He was drowning in the scent of him despite himself. _Warm, spice-soaked lemons._ He was addicted almost instantly. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to keep from scenting with him after this. A thumb tucked in the hem of his jeans and tugged, the sensation so sudden it almost stung. “Would you take my knot if I asked?”

 

Ryan nodded slowly, dazed, teeth clamped hard on his lower lip as he reached down to thumb at the button of his jeans.

 

Geoff laughed heartily before he rolled them both on their sides. Ryan went with it, a strange mix of relief and disappointment churning in his stomach. The older Alpha's arm slung over his waist and cuddled him in tight, a low simmer of arousal still in the air despite the innocent buss of the man's nose along the top of his spine and the small rubbing on his stomach.

 

“So...” Ryan put out there, unsure.

 

“Shh.” Geoff's thumb tapped just above his belly button. “Corrective scenting, dude. Get with the program. Gonna' make you smell like me and I'm a little too drunk to sit back up.”

 

“Oh.” He pillowed his head on his hand and let it happen. This was more familiar and after a few moments he calmed down, breathing returning to normal even as he kept his neck open for the older Alpha's use.

 

“I wouldn't knot ya', Ryan,” Geoff explained after a few quiet minutes of rubbing in his scent. “Not over something like Joel. He's already twitchy and easy to bowl over.”

 

“Yeah, he's a little bitch,” Ryan chuckled lightly. “I think you scared Gav earlier,  _Daddy._ ”

 

“You call me that again and I'll fuck you so hard you'll have to miss work.”

 

The sharp, dark tone made him shudder and snap his mouth shut. He didn't want to push it and he ignored the way his cock twitched in his jeans.

 

o0o

 

The next day Ryan went around carefully avoiding everyone's eyes. He knew he still smelled like Geoff despite his aggressive shower and people were drawing conclusions. It didn't help that Geoff spent the morning smirking and dismissing comments with a little shrug of his shoulders. They recorded a  _Let's Play_  and the Omegas kept grinning at him. Gavin had obviously told them what had gone on and no one was exempt from making comments that would surely have to be edited out later. Even Jack got in on the game.

 

“Whoa! Don't kill Geoff or you'll have to deal with his new man.”

 

“Watch out, Ryan, Geoff's on your ass – oh, wait, I think that was yesterday.”

 

“Ryan, dude, this is just  _knot_  your day.”

 

Ryan huffed into his mic. “Guys, I need some wood.”

 

“I think Geoff's got some for ya',” Michael snickered.

 

“Let's break!” Geoff declared once he saw the murderous glare the younger Alpha was sporting. Everyone went off to the break room and the bathroom but Michael stayed behind, coming up to him with a knowing smirk that made him tingle pleasantly in anticipation. “What can I do for you, baby boy?”

 

Michael crawled into his lap, the chair creaking loudly under their combined weight. The Omega wrapped his arms around his neck and brushed their noses, pretty lips still twisted up like the little cheeky fuck he was. “I should've stayed over last night. I would pay good money to watch you fuck him.”

 

Geoff stole a little kiss. “You're a kinky bitch.”

 

“It already smells like you knotted the poor guy,” Michael commented. “Why didn't you?”

 

“Would you be angry if I had?” the Alpha hummed, letting his fingers drift under the boy's shirt.

 

“No way, that shit would've been hot,” Michael shot back, rocking a little into his lap at the first touch of skin-on-skin. “Come on. Tell me.”

 

“Number one, whiskey dick,” Geoff laughed quietly when his boy's eyes went dark. “Number two, Alpha don't slick like you pretty little Omegas do. I can't knot a poor guy who doesn't get all wet like a girl when I touch his dick.”

 

“I think you're talking about just me now,” Michael purred even as his nails raked over the Alpha's forearms in punishment for the 'girl' comment.

 

Geoff hissed but he liked it. “And number three...I did what needed to be done. That's it. He's our friend. Not that it wasn't tempting, but he and Ray have a good thing going. Ray's still new to all this. I don't want him thinking I'm trying to take his man. No matter how good looking he is.”

 

“You mounting Ryan,” Michael breathed, the curve of his wakening erection showing through his shorts. “God damn, Geoff, that shit's fucking hot.”

 

Geoff groped his ass, getting the boy to moan outright. “You want me to lock the door, baby boy?”

 

“God, yes.”

 

o0o

 

Ray sniffed as subtly as he could behind Ryan as the Alpha fixed himself a second cup of coffee. Geoff lingered on his friend's skin and liked how it complimented his scent. He'd heard all about the evening before and it strangely turned him on. Ryan was always so kind to him and he'd seen the fierce nature that he'd unleashed all over Joel. This side of his friend was new. (His courtship buddy? What were they now?) Ryan had submitted to Geoff, trusting their boss enough to get on top of him and rut with the half-promise to-

 

Ray saddled up behind Ryan and brushed his nose along the Alpha's shoulder blade, scenting him lightly. Geoff's warm citrus smell was there and under that old wood, both musky and mixing. “Hey, Rye.”

 

“Hey.”

 

“Wanna' come over tonight? Hang out?”

 

Ryan seemed surprised as he turned around to look at him. “Are you sure?”

 

“Yeah. We'll eat and play games and make out on the couch.”

 

Ryan's eyebrows didn't lower.

 

“We're courting now, right?” Ray pressed. “Making out is kind of mandatory now.”

 

“Well, if I have to...”

 

“Uh, lovebirds?” Jack called from the doorway. “You wanna' get lunch?”

 

“Dude, we're doing a thing right now.”

 

Jack looked a little flushed. “Michael and Geoff are fucking in the office and Gavin's listening, so...”

 

“Let's Lunch!”

 

* * *

 

**This chapter got deleted for about twenty mins and I know some of you got confused for a sec but I did that. I was almost going to re-write it with a smuttier middle where Geoff got Ryan off but, uh, that didn't well in my head. So, uh, just imagine that in your head.**


	46. Dan's First Visit - Part One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dan comes to Austin for a short leave. Michael's not too happy.
> 
> -
> 
> “Bloody hell. It's like seeing the sun again.”

**Dan's visit takes place AFTER Ryan and Ray have their first kiss. They're now courting. Will be very good to make notes about that in the future because I think there's two more chapters that like shoot back to before they kissed.**

 

* * *

 

 

“But Michael!” Gavin moaned, trailing after the other Omega towards the stairs, “ _Swimmy bevs_.”

 

“It's not even that hot out,” Michael griped.

 

Gavin made a frustrated noise and tugged at his friend's arm. “But it'll be fun, I promise!”

 

Michael started down the steps, keeping his face tilted down to hide his smirk. He loved getting the Brit riled up like this. There was no way in hell that he'd pass up a chance to see Gavin shirtless and soaked. They often ended up wrestling in Geoff's pool and the feel of the slick Omega under his hands was one of his favorite thing. But second to that (and scenting) was teasing the hell out of him until he whined. Gavin's endless stream of chatter flowed to a stop and he knew that the Brit had had enough.

 

“Okay, if you insist...” Michael said with a put-upon sigh, glancing up at the other to see the happy little glow that always came on his friend's face when he agreed to do something for him. But Gavin wasn't looking at him. The other Omega had trailed down to the first landing, staring down the length of stairs to the first floor. A familiar dark haired Alpha was standing there in casual army fatigues and a huge duffel slung over his shoulders. He was fit and tall with a shaven smooth face and deep, hazel eyes that made even Michael's heart skip a beat. Gavin was stunned, enraptured, and one of the biggest smile he'd ever seen came onto his face.

 

“B?” Gavin called hopefully.

 

“My, my, I do declare,” the Alpha drawled in a horrible Texas accent, “You have grown lovelier in my absence.”

 

“Dan!” Gavin cried out, taking the stairs two at a time and nearly falling twice before he jumped into the Alpha's arms. He was spun around and clung to, long legs wrapping around a thick waist and two sets of arm gripping so tight it looked like it hurt. Dan held him easily, tucking an arm under the Omega's ass and another across his shoulders. They both closed their eyes and just _breathed_.

 

“Bloody hell,” Dan exclaimed, nose tucked just behind his friend's ear, “It's like seeing the sun again.”

 

“You've got all the sun you want out in the desert, you stupid git.” Gavin's voice was pulled tight, eyes wet with unshed tears of relief. He hadn't heard from the Alpha in weeks and he'd started to get worried.

 

“Not like this,” Dan swore, inhaling loudly by the Omega's ear. _Sunshine. Wildflowers. The field outside his house where they recorded videos._ “God, you've always smelled so good, B. Kind of making me homesick.”

 

“You been mucking about with your army buddies?” Gavin ribbed, rubbing his stubble over the man's smooth cheek. “You're buried under a whole bunch of neutralizer and other Alphas. I can't smell a thing! It's not fair!”

 

“We'll scent all nice and proper later by ourselves,” Dan promised, carefully putting him back on his feet. “Hopefully right before a nice, long nap because I'm knackered from that flight. Dropped off to see the fam for a few hours before I got back on to come here. Bloody difficult getting a cab in this city, yeah?”

 

“You came here just to see me?” Gavin was really close to crying in front of the whole office so he sniffed and put his balls back on along with a happy face. “You didn't say a word! You're such an arse.”

  
“I wanted it to be a _surprise_ ,” Dan stressed, grinning as they fell into the old argument like a married couple. “And it's not such a shock if I tell you about it before hand.”

 

Their hands were still on each others arms, refusing to break contact even for a moment after months of being apart. After the break up they'd become closer than ever and even without being bonded it still ached to be away from one another for so long. But the dreaded question had to be asked. “How long are you back?”

 

“Not long,” Dan unwillingly admitted. “Less than a week before I've got to head back.”

 

Gavin's throat was painfully dry so he just grabbed the Alpha and pulled him in to a fierce hug instead. He tucked his face against his friend's chest and tried to find his real scent under all the layers but he couldn't and it only made him grunt and press harder.

 

Dan made a low, cooing noise and scratched lightly through his hair. “It's alright, B. I'll shower up and everything will be good again, yeah?”

 

“Yeah,” he muttered, word nearly swallowed up by his fatigues.

 

On the stairs, Michael was fuming. He'd met Dan before and he thought he was a good guy, a good Alpha, but this time felt different. This was the first time he'd seen the Brits together since before he'd decided that Gavin should be with him and Geoff. Michael would sometimes forget that while he was going around building a life with Geoff in America, Gavin had been off in England filming slow-mo videos and riding Dan's dick every night. The thought infuriated him now. Gavin belonged to him, he wore his scent almost all the time now, and he wasn't about to share him with anyone.

 

Sure, they hadn't all gotten around to discussing it, and there'd only been a few kisses, and maybe Geoff didn't quite understand the gravity of the situation, but he was _theirs_ , God damn it!

 

Dan was a great guy and he considered them friends and everything but right now Michael was ready to tear his throat out with his teeth.

 

When the two finally managed to tear themselves away, the rest of the AH crew had sought them out.

 

“Dan the Man, as I live and breathe!” Geoff gave him a bro-hug and slapped his back. “Welcome back, man. We were getting worried on this side of the ocean.”

 

“I was perfectly safe the whole time,” Dan assured him, then stole a little look at his best friend. “For the most part.”

 

“Too many guns for my taste,” Jack tisked, pulling him into a hug as well. “You have to come over while you're here. Caiti's going to flip to see you back.”

 “She's so lovely. How's she been?”

 

“No complaints.”

 

“Fantastic.”

 

Ryan stepped up and Dan went bright in that way they thought only Gavin could. “Ryan...”

 

“Dan,” Ryan greeted, shaking his hand firmly with a sincere smile. “We're glad you're back in one piece. We really were worried.”

 

“No worries,” Dan brushed it off but there was a relieved gratitude in his eyes. “It's been way too long. You look...I'm going to be honest, mate, you look bloody fantastic. Did you buff up a bit?”

 

Ryan looked to the side. “Well.”

 

“It's good on you,” Dan assured him, daring to run his fingers over the older Alpha's forearm. “I like it a lot.” Ryan raised a brow at him and he cleared his throat nervously, moving back in case he tried to embarrass himself again. “Where's Ray? I heard he presented and I got him a little something.”

 

“He's going to be pissed he missed you,” Gavin pointed out, eyeing the duffel as if to see how many presents were actually there. “He's out of town for a fundraiser thing and then a press run with Joel and a bunch of the other guys. They'll probably get back after you're off.”

 

“Well, bollocks,” Dan picked back up his bag, having dropped it the moment Gavin jumped into him, “I wanted to give him congrats and all that. I missed the little brat, you know? Haven't seen him since weeks before he presented. Next time, I guess.”

 

“If you would have just _called ahead_ we would've had the whole gang here.”

 

“Oh come off it, Gav.”

 

“You come off it!”

 

“Boys,” Geoff interrupted lazily, “We're in public.”

 

Michael pushed between Jack and Ryan, trying to keep a civil look on his face. “Dan.”

 

“Michael!” Dan beamed, coming up and grabbing his fingers. He thought he was going to get a handshake but the Alpha just used it as leverage to pull him in for a kiss on the cheek. He cringed but no one saw it but Geoff, who frowned. “It's been ages. You cut that mop of curls off, I see. It's suits you.”

 

 _Charming bastard._ “Thanks, man. It's been a while.”

 

“You smell happy,” Dan commented with a little grin. “You all do. Not one miserable sod in the lot.”

 

“We're trying our best,” the Omega replied flippantly.

 

Gavin watched them with a tense expression. He hadn't told his best mate about the weird dynamic between him and the other couple. Mostly because he didn't think it would come of anything, but largely do to that he was terrified that if he mentioned it out loud it would all collapse. It was a delicate balance and he didn't want to start poking holes in it.

 

“You're staying with us, of course.”

 

Gavin zoned back in to the conversation.

 

“Are you sure it's alright?” Dan asked.

 

“No problem, dude,” Geoff promise with a little wave of his hand. “We've got plenty of room and a whole bunch of extra bedding. And enough booze to fuel a medium sized army unit. So that should last us the weekend.”

 

“I know you two are together now.” Dan gestured between the older Alpha and Michael. “And you've got Gav living with you. I don't want to crowd up your house.”

 

There was something on Geoff's face that couldn't be read but his voice didn't give it away. “Nah. You kids will play and I'll watch TV and get drunk like a real father. It'll be great.”

 

“Long as you no one minds,” Dan conceded, looking between the Omegas. Despite Michael's murderous thoughts he nodded along. He might've been feeling a little protective but he wasn't going to put the man – their friend – in some shitty hotel for a week.

 

o0o

 

Dan spent the night in Gavin's room, both down to their boxers and curled around each other without an inch of space in between. They'd rolled around for a while, noses tucked into necks and hands skimming along bare sides and over delicate inner wrists. They'd napped for a bit and woke up cuddling, Gavin pressed up against his back as the big spoon.

 

Dan's smell was the best. Geoff and Ryan had scents that were so serious and heavy but Dan was light, floating through his body and making it tingle instead of lacing in his blood and grounding him. He was a rare breed, his B. He smelled like standing in the middle of a carnival by the ocean. Powdered sugar and the salt of the ocean wrapped together with a ribbon of the warm, smooth sand that yielded under your feet when you walked across the beach. He was the very definition of _fun_. The day he'd presented as an Alpha, Gavin had demanded to take him to the nearest amusement park so he could see for himself if cotton candy and funnels cakes smelled just as good in person as they did on his best friend's skin.

 

Sleepy eyes blinked in the dark, smaller arms curled around the Alpha's stomach and cheek resting on the smooth curve of his spine. It was one of the few places on Dan's body that hadn't been kissed by the sun. “I'm glad you're back. Even for just a bit.”

 

“Me too,” Dan mumbled into the pillow. “ 'S there a jealous Alpha I should be worried about?”

 

Gavin chewed the swell of his lip as he thought of Geoff and Michael so content and happy on the other side of the house in their bed. Probably sweaty, satiated, Geoff grounding the pretty Omega with his weight and tiny little neck kisses. His chest swelled painfully as thought of them sleeping in the scent of one another. He would've done anything to be in there with them but this was good too.

 

“No,” he replied softly.

 

Dan's hand laid on his own and squeezed. “Really? I don't believe that. You smell like spring and despite that dumb gob and huge beak of yours, you're fucking hot.”

 

He pinched a soft roll of flesh on the Alpha's stomach, getting a playful growl. “No, B, there's no one.”

 

Dan squirmed down into the bedding once he was sure he wasn't going to get pinched again. “Huh. Woulda' thought someone would've snatched you up by now.”

 

Gavin nudged his forehead against his shoulder blade. “Yeah. Me too.”

 

o0o0o0o

 

Gavin tilted his face up toward the sun. It was a hot one in Austin and he had fished out his smallest bathing suit shorts. The pool was sparkling blindingly and it was almost too much to stare at directly despite how pretty it was. He sat down on the end of one of the nice pool-side chairs and started looking around, plucking up the sunscreen when he found it.

 

“You even need this, B?” Gavin asked, waving the bottle at his friend.

 

Dan plopped down on his own chair, looking bronze and beautiful with a sharp, white smile. “Nah. But you look like you do. Give it over.”

 

Gavin handed the bottle off and let the Alpha move behind him. Tan knees settled on either side of his thighs and he felt the heat of his body past the baking sun. “You don't have to.”

 

“I like it,” Dan admitted, squeezing a generous amount onto his palm before rubbing his hands together. “Just 'cause we're not together doesn't mean you're not my best mate. And you're still an Omega. It's in my DNA and shit.”

 

“You still trying to be my Alpha?” Gavin needled, though his voice trailed off in a moan when thumbs started rubbing over his spine. The lotion was cool and spread easily across his skin, his friend's capable hands covering him like he had a hundred times before. Dan had taken care of him since they were kids. Just because they'd fallen into bed for more than cuddles for a few months there didn't mean that would change.

 

“Don't be a brat.” Dan tickled his side and made him squawk out a laugh. “And rub this shit in your pelt or you'll burn your nips again.”

 

“That was _one_ time!”

 

o0o

 

Geoff was bustling around the kitchen whipping up some of his self-proclaimed “fantastic” kabobs to slap on the grill. Marinating meat, a half dozen vegetables to chop, and all the beer he could drink. He was already feeling a little buzzed and the only thing bringing him down was the sulky expression on his Omega's face. Michael was downing a beer too fast to be casual, eyes firmly out the window to the back patio. He'd been staring for the past thirty minutes or so despite his Alpha's attempt to engage him in conversation.

 

“Look at them.” Michael spoke through grit teeth.

 

“Yeah, look at them,” Geoff tisked sarcastically. “How dare they – best friends and ex-boyfriends – hang out after they haven't seen each other for months? Those motherfuckers.”

 

“They don't have to be so touchy-feely about it,” Michael complained, sneering when he watched his boy throw a leg over Dan's thigh and lay his head on his shoulder. “If he tries anything, I'll-”

 

“You'll what?” the Alpha cut him off. “You'd really get angry at Gavin for trying to be happy?”

 

Michael's nose scrunched up. “Happy being a little fucking slut.”

 

A knife was pulled out of the chopping block with a _shing_ , the tip of the blade pointing at him threateningly. “Don't start that shit. He's still your boy.”

 

“He's _our_ boy!” Michael snapped. “You can't honestly expect me to believe you're okay with this? That you're not pissed another Alpha is coming in and moving into your territory?”

 

Geoff set the knife down, lips pulled in a frown. “You really want me to go out there and bite Dan to the floor just because we're greedy and thinking about fucking up the good thing we all have going. Is that what you're telling me?”

 

Plump lips pursed into a white slash across his face, gaze shooting back out the window. “We're all in the middle of something but Dan comes in and suddenly we're invisible. All Gavin wants to do is scent with his _B_ and hang out with him.”

 

“Again, what bastards,” the Alpha snarked. “How _dare_ they want to reconnect.”

 

Michael eyed his boyfriend for a few moments, and in those precious seconds he was stripped down to the core. “It's eating you up too, isn't it?”

 

Geoff went back to the vegetables. “I'm not going to stand in the way of what makes Gavin happy. If that's us, fine. If that's Dan...that's fine too.”

 

“This is what we get for pulling a Ryan and dragging our asses,” the Omega scoffed, eyes roaming over the tan curves of Gavin's sprawled leg and tracing the spiky tips of his hair. “I wonder what they're talking about right out there?”

 

o0o

 

Dan's shoulder was firm against his temple, a single point to focus on. It had been so long since Geoff had properly grounded him. He was still unsure where his sweet spot was, the point on his body where an Alpha's touch could send him deep down into all that fuzzy bliss where his thoughts were weightless and the world faded out. Geoff had always done such a good job but it had been ages. _Lucky Michael._

 

“Do you ever wonder how big Harrison Ford's knob really is?”

 

Dan tucked his hands behind his head, eyes closed behind his shades. “All the time.”

 

“What about Simon Cowell?”

 

“Mmhmm.”

 

“Jude Law?”

 

“I think that's on the internet, B.”

 

“What about Kate Moss? You ever wonder what her tits look like?”

 

“Sure, yeah.”

 

“What about Sara Palin?”

 

He moved his shades up to look down into the Omega's face. “Have you been reading my diary?”

 

Gavin trailed his fingers over the dark hair littered across his friend's chest. “What about Michael?”

 

The shades went back into place. “Michael who?”

He scratched a little next to a dark nipple. “Michael Jones.”

 

“Not really. Maybe once or twice, but that's just a bro thing, right? Americans do that a lot too, don't they?” Dan thought out loud.

 

“So...you like him, right?”

 

“He's fit,” Dan replied casually, thinking on the Omega in the house. “The curls were lovely. Looks a bit older now, doesn't he?”

 

“I think he's beautiful,” Gavin confessed under his breath, rolling back onto his seat and stretching out.

 

“I could see that,” the Alpha felt drowsy in the Austin sun, jet lag sticking to his muscles. “You two are brilliant in videos. I'd be a bit jealous but you guys are so bloody cute.”

 

“Mm.”

 

“You trying to hook me up with a mated Omega?” Dan jested.

 

“No, I just-” Gavin made a face when he realized the other was smirking. “How's your Alpha-crush on Ryan coming along?”

 

Dan honestly _flailed_ as he sat up, shades getting tugged off to show some new color on his cheeks. “I don't have a _crush_ so shut your stupid gob!”

 

“Oooh,” Gavin purred, “That's a big reaction for something that doesn't exist. Are you carrying a torch for Rye-bread? Another Alpha? _Really_ , B?”

 

He got a smack in the stomach that surprised a squawk out of him. “Dan!”

 

“Shut up!”

 

“You're _so_ red!”

 

Dan scrubbed the back of his hand over his cheek, “I am _not_.”

 

Gavin didn't mean to laugh but he'd never seen the other look so embarrassed before over something so small. He got another smack in the stomach. “Oi!”

 

“I just respect him is all,” Dan explained a little too earnestly. “He's the kind of Alpha I want to be, you know? He's got that quiet calm to him but no one fucks with him and he's all scary underneath. It's damn intimidating.”

 

“It's a crush.”

 

“It's _appreciation_.”

 

Gavin smirked. “And he's bloody fit too. Bet that doesn't hurt.”

 

Dan grabbed the Omega and hauled him over his shoulder with one smooth movement. Gavin shouted protests and called out when the Alpha stood. “Don't do it!”

 

“You look a little hot.”

 

“You're such an arse, let me go!”

 

“Dan?”

 

Dan stopped at Geoff's voice and put his friend down so he could turn toward him. The older Alpha's head was poking out of the glass door. “Start the grill up. I'm about halfway through in here and I want it hot.”

 

Dan gave him a half-ass salute. “Can do.”

 

“Good boy. Everything you need is beside it.”

 

The door closed and a little thrill went through the young Alpha's stomach. “Do you get kinda' tingly when he says that?”

 

“Yeah,” Gavin admitted, rubbing his stomach where the other's shoulder had dug into it, “It's a Pack-Alpha thing. Acceptance and all that.”

 

“Acceptance,” Dan mused. _Sounds nice._

 

o0o

 

Even with Michael's suspicious looks and snarky attitude, the evening went off really well. They ate until their stomachs hurt and played _Halo_ , shooting the shit and letting the conversation flow naturally. Geoff even scratched behind Dan's ears a few times, leaving little tendrils of scent behind.

 

Gavin knew things weren't exactly the way he wanted them to be, but what he had and what he could see having was good enough for now.

 

o0o0o0o

 

Dan rode along to the RT office and went off on his own while the others started their projects for the day.

 

“Dan!”

 

“Burns,” Dan greeted warmly, chuckling when the older Alpha pulled him into a huge hug. “All right?”

 

“Everything's been great.” Burnie pulled back and looked him over, patting both his shoulders. “You look good. I'm glad to see back safe and sound. How long are you back this time?”

 

“Just a few days,” Dan hated to keep saying that because everyone he'd told got that same sad expression, “A layover to England to let my fam see me off then I'm back in for a while. I got a two week leave by a miracle, trust me. I did a lot of shit to earn it.”

 

“Forever or just for a day, we're happy to have you here,” Burnie promised, tucking an arm around the younger Alpha's shoulders and squeezing tight. “You're doing good over there. And you know when you're done we'll take you here in a heartbeat. You've always got a job with us.”

 

Dan felt goosebumps break out over his skin as his heart fluttered. It was high praise and Burnie had always been good to him. He looked up to the man. Gavin had talked a bit over Skype and text that the Alpha had been acting differently but he didn't see it. “Cheers, mate.”

 

He didn't mind when the man's nose brushed his hair but he went dead still at the words that came out of his mouth. “I can smell Gavin on you like soap, man. You fuck the hell out of him the moment you landed or what? Not that I blame you.”

“Excuse you?” Dan pushed him away, canines flashing briefly. “That's my best mate you're talking about there so you better watch what you fucking say.”

 

“Whoa, buddy, no worries,” Burnie's easy smile was disarming and the way he threw his hands up looked like surrender but it didn't feel like it. “I didn't mean anything by it. He's a cute kid.”

 

Suspicion burned through Dan but he kept his hands down. Getting into trouble on leave was the last thing he needed but Gavin had said his boss was bothering him. What boss? _Burnie_? Fuck, he'd never asked. The older Alpha was so quick to back up – maybe it was just typical knothead bullshit. He'd never fed into that crap. His mother had raised him to understand that Omegas were special and should be loved. Their biology was delicate and could be embarrassing, and when they trusted you it was with all of their hearts. He'd never betrayed the trust of an Omega, not after meeting Gavin on the playground and falling in love with the stupid little git.

 

“Just... _don't_ , alright?”

 

“No harm, no foul.”

 

_Only because I restrained myself._

 

o0o0o0o

 

The hotel room was dark except for the light from the city creeping in past the cracks in the blinds. Joel was laying awake staring at the ceiling, brain whirring so loudly he was sure he was going to wake Ray up. The Omega was in the other bed fast asleep, worn out by the busy day they had. The other's sweet scent wasn't as dizzying as it had been before Ryan put him down like an animal in front of their friends. Ever since that day his nose just hadn't been as sensitive to it – or something.

 

It was just one of a thousand reasons why he couldn't power down for the night.

 

Something had changed inside him and it was freaking him out. The Omegas at the office, once the best parts of his day, were really starting to lose his interest. Not that they were entitled to or even trying to, but his eyes didn't stray as often as they used to. Hell, he didn't even _try_ to sneak a peek at Ray when he was getting ready for a shower earlier (though he could have sworn the kid was stealing curious glances at him).

 

Joel may have found himself dropping his head every time Ryan came into the room but it was Burnie his eyes were now following. His very _Alpha_ , very _handsome_ friend. A man he'd known for most of his life and would probably know until the end of it. A man who had been acting like the biggest asshole for the past few months. A man who probably needed more therapy and hormone treatments than he could even imagine. _I'm going to have to talk to him about that eventually. Sooner rather than later._

 

The real reason he couldn't sleep was because of what happened in the shower right before he'd jumped into bed. Ray's rich vanilla scent had been all through the room, the smell clinging to the condensation on the mirrors and slicking the inside of the shower stall. It would've been the material of wet dreams but his dick hadn't so much as twitched. It had confused the shit out of him so he'd tried to get off, hoping to prove to himself that he wasn't getting erectile dysfunction or something, but nothing had gone on downstairs until an idle thought of Burnie had crossed his mind. What the man would say about his medical paranoia, what he'd suggest doing, what he'd _actually_ do. Maybe he'd offer to help.

 

It had been years since he'd come in his own hand that hard.

 

“Fuck,” he muttered out loud, tossing his forearm over his eyes. He needed to sleep so bad and now his dick was waking up from just the _memory_ of an intense Alpha-fueled orgasm. He was too fucking old to be having some kind of sexuality crisis. It was bad enough he'd riled up with Ryan threatening to knot him, he didn't need to be obsessing about his boss. Sure, he'd thought of it before, but never seriously. Burnie was one of his best friends, a long-time buddy, and he'd always been a more aggressive Alpha. It was only normal to be happy under him (metaphorically, of course).

 

There was a buzz. He dropped his arm and squinted as a bright light shot up from Ray's bed. The Omega grumbled and smacked around until his palm hit his phone and the light died off. There was a rough _fucking Gavin_ before the device clicked and he unlocked the message.

 

“What's up?” Joel asked.

 

“Sorry, man, didn't mean to wake you up,” Ray apologized with a faint yawn. “Dan's there for a visit.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“I'm always gone when he comes,” Ray complained, the phone getting buried back under the blankets. “Fucking army. Can't wait until he's out of that.”

 

Joel hummed in agreement. Dan was a good guy. There were serious talks of bringing him into the company once he finished his complete tour. He'd be a great addition and it would surely put a lot of minds at ease.

 

“Ray?”

 

“Hm?”

 

“Can I ask you something weird?”

 

The Omega shifted loudly underneath the blankets. “Sure.”

 

“How did you, uh...” Joel bit the side of his lip. “How did you know that Ryan was your Alpha?”

 

Ray was quiet for a few minutes and Joel went back to staring at the ceiling.

 

“I looked at him and I never wanted to stop.”

 

Joel looked over at the bundle of blankets again but Ray hadn't moved.

 

“I wasn't even an Omega yet but I knew I wanted to be by his side. As a friend, as anything really,” Ray kept going, voice low but sure. “There was something about all his individual parts that just made him _everything_. It's weird to describe.”

 

“So,” Joel started hesitantly, “If I found someone...how would I be able to tell?”

 

Ray's head raised and he blinked through the darkness to look at him. “You would do anything for them. No matter what. They could stomp a kitten and you would still love them.”

 

Joel sighed and flipped onto his stomach, wrapping his heart back up in a protective swath.

 

“Did that help?”

 

“Yeah,” Joel rubbed his damp eyes into the pillow.

 

“Did you find someone like that? An Omega or a-an Alpha?”

 

“ _God_ , I hope not.”

 

* * *

**This was just a huge bloody tease. There's SO MUCH that goes down in the second half.**

 


	47. Dan's First Visit - Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin tries to relieve some stress but he's too wrapped up in his own sordid love life to see which end is up. Will Dan help, or will Gavin fuck it all up?
> 
> (PS: The bear bites)
> 
> -
> 
> “Gavin's not your God damn booty call.”

Gavin groaned as the clean head shot took him out before he'd taken two steps from his spawn. “You bloody camper!”

 

“Oh no,” Dan replied in a mock mourning, “Why don't you cry about it in hell, nancy boy! _Whoo_!”

 

Gavin's virtual guy blew up from a grenade. “You're such an ass!”

 

The two Brits battled it out on _Call of Duty_ , teeth grit and fingers quick over the controls. A small army of empty beer bottles lay scattered at their feet, the rush from the game fighting off the normal sleepiness that would be come at two in the morning. Geoff had gone to bed hours ago and Michael had slunk in after him a while ago. Gavin watched them go with his usual pangs of longing and jealousy and had taken a few slugs of harder stuff before Dan had taken the bottle away and put a ice cold beer in his hand instead.

 

Gavin sat his controller down as Dan hollered and whooped his victory, blathering about how he beat someone who's job it was to play video games. He openly stared and admired the soldier, a hand moving on its own and curling along the top of his thigh. Dan was so gorgeous. All that dark hair, soft doe eyes, an aristocratic nose, even the thick brows were attractive. He had those classic good looks that everyone strived to have. He used to be jealous when they were younger but now it just turned him on.

 

Gavin leaned forward and kissed his cheek, moving down to his jaw, ignoring the way Dan quieted and went kind of still. He hushed him and nuzzled at his neck, suckling lightly at his pulse point until it started jumping under his mouth. There was a sizzle of arousal through the air.

 

“You okay, B?”

 

“Scent with me,” Gavin urged, grabbing the Alpha's shirt so he couldn't get away. He lifted his legs up onto the cushion, throwing one over Dan's lap and tucking the other along the couch behind his strong back. He pulled insistently, their noses brushing, eyes never leaving one another. “Like we used to. Remember?”

  
“Gav,” Dan started to move with him, slowly putting his hands down on either side of his friend's skinny hips. “Are you sure?”

 

“Mmhm,” Gavin nodded, free hand lacing in his dark hair, “I missed your scent.”

  
“I didn't come here to fuck with you, I swear,” Dan swore, knowing that his friend had always been partial to his scent and used to fall into it head first when they were together. “It didn't work between us. Remember _that_?”

 

Gavin ducked his face down, forehead touching the man's smooth shoulder. Being reminded of how he'd fucked up their relationship for an unattainable desire only sucker punched him in the ego. He'd had his gorgeous best friend in bed, in his heart, in his life, and he'd left it all behind for a mated Alpha. “I know you want me, Dan. I can fucking smell it.”

 

Dan ran his lips over the Omega's temple. “We don't have to have it off just because you still get me all hot under the collar, love. We had something really lovely and I don't want to muck it up with some one night stand before I fuck off back to the desert.”

 

Gavin shook his head, pulling back and bracing his hands on the couch. There were stupid, frustrated tears in his eyes and a heavy scowl twisted his lips. “No one wants me here, Dan.”

 

Dan gaped, shocked at the sudden flip from cute seduction to heavy-hearted misery. “Gavin?”

 

“Geoff and Michael have each other but they...I think they're teasing me,” Gavin confessed in a rush, voicing the dark thoughts that crept into his dreams. “Geoff keeps touching me and letting me nap on him and kiss him and stuff. And Michael keeps scenting me like he wants to fuck me and he always makes me feel so good...I-I...he made me jizz like a fucking kid in my pants the other day and he was so sweet about it when he should've teased the hell out of me. They treat me so nice but they're still _them_ and I'm still _me_ and I'm so sick of going to bed alone. They love each other so _much_.”

 

Gavin's voice shattered completely, wet drops clinging to his blonde lashes. “I want to be with them, both of them, but they only fuck around with me when they're drunk and it's starting to screw with me.”

 

Dan started to growl, a rumbling sound that built up from his gut and tore up his throat. “Those motherfuckers. I'll kill 'em both, Gav, I swear to fucking God I'll-”

 

The rest of his rant was swallowed up in a kiss. Gavin slanted his lips across the Alpha's own and lapped up the anger burning across his palette until there was just warmth left. “I don't want to fucking think about them right now, love. Right now...I need you to want me. I need _someone_ to want me.”

 

Dan quickly cupped the Omega's jaw with both hands, kissing him again, heart aching when he tasted the salt of a stray tear. “I want you.” Gavin's mouth trembled under the force of another kiss. “I will always want you.” The Omega melting under his palms. “And I will _always_ take care of you.”

 

Their bodies knew each other and they still moved in perfect sync as Dan moved on top of the Omega, covering him like a shield. It was familiar, comforting, and their hips slotted together so nicely.

 

“You deserve so much, B,” Dan whispered lovingly into his neck, fingers curling along the heavy bulge of denim between his best friend's legs. “Anyone would be damn lucky to have you.”

 

Gavin clung tightly, fingers digging little bruises into his back. “Dan, please.”

 

“I'm here,” Dan hushed, grazing his teeth above the Omega's scent gland like he knew he liked. “I'm not going anywhere.”

 

“Not ever?”

 

“Never ever, B.”

 

Gavin moaned freely, any modesty or fear of being caught flying out the window with the helpful push of all the bevs in his system. “God, Dan, it's been so long...you were the last person to fuck me properly.”

 

They rocked together, Dan's fingers easily flicking open the button of the other man's jeans and pushing his fly away enough to get at the outline of his cock. There were high high pitched gasps as the Alpha worked him over, the faintest damp patch forming as he started to get wet. Dan's scent filled up his lungs with the promise of a good time and his body reacted to it so well that Pavlov would've bragged about it.

 

“Dan,” he whimpered, turning his head away and giving the Alpha his neck to keep playing with. Dan wouldn't leave lasting marks but the edge of his canines felt good skimming across his skin. He was mid-moan, the Alpha's fingers creeping to the back of his jeans to tease on his hole through his underwear, when he caught a glimpse of pale skin in the hall. The sound choked off, brows knitting together as he tried to comprehend what he was seeing.

 

Michael was standing in the hallway. He didn't have his glasses on and he naked from the waist up, tattooed arms crossed over his chest. His jaw was clenched tight and his dark eyes, sometimes so similar to Dan's but wilder by far. He did not look pleased at all. In fact, he looked livid.

 

Dan's hand grabbed one of his own and their fingers laced beside his head, the intimacy of the act making his face burn under Michael's watchful gaze. Then the Alpha's palm grazed the top of his dick and he cried out, eyes still locked on the other Omega as his mouth fell open and he let out the embarrassingly girly sound.

 

Gavin was about to say something, anything, but Michael turned around and quietly went back toward the bedroom he shared with his Alpha.

 

His throat swelled up and he would've went limp if not for the way Dan's hand finally slipped into his shorts. He grabbed a bit of the man's hair and brought him up from his collarbone for brief kiss.

 

“Let's go to the bedroom.”

 

o0o

 

Gavin kept his eyes closed while smooth, wet lips slid down the length of his cock. He thrust up and got a hand clamped on his hip in punishment, the Alpha pinning him easily down into his own bed.

 

“That's it, love.” _Michael._

 

Gavin scowled and did his best to smother the image of Michael's curls between his thighs, puffy pink mouth wrapped around his cock.

 

“Nnn, Dan.”

 

_Michael, please._

 

“Just there – _oh_.”

 

_Fuck me, Michael._

 

After a fresh slather of lube and three glorious fingers stretching him, he got a real taste of Alpha dick in a year. Dan's cock wasn't as thick as Geoff's (at least from what he'd see on the older man) but it was about just as long, making it so his friend had _zero_ trouble finding that bundle of nerves inside him. They moved well together, from scenting to making out to fucking – they were compatible. He thrust with him as best he could but Dan held him tightly and made sure he got everything he needed. The Alpha's tongue took his mouth just as completely, the mixing of their scents making him a little light-headed. _My generous, lovely B._

 

The first swell of Dan's knot tugged at his rim and a bolt of alarm jabbed him straight in the heart, irrational fear making him claw lightly at the Alpha's back. They hadn't bothered with a condom, Dan got regularly tested for a lot worse than STD's, but getting tied felt like crossing a line that would send him right back into the bottle. It was one thing to feel him bare and deep inside him, it was another to lay there with his shame for nearly thirty minutes while the guilt of what they did ate up at him. It would be like betraying Michael and Geoff. “D-Don't...”

 

“I won't, B. Not if you don't want me to,” Dan professed, sounding calm despite the way he panted and the strain of his muscles as he fucked into the Omega.

 

Gavin shook his head. “Don't knot me.”

 

“Okay,” he soothed, kissing him too sweetly for what they were doing. “I won't. You okay? You want me to stop?”

 

“No, don't you fucking dare.”

 

Gavin made the mistake of closing his eyes again and his dumb brain betrayed him. There was still dark hair with his lover but there was pale skin now, arms covered in colorful tattoos, the faint scratch of beard becoming heavier. He almost asked to be put on his stomach so he could lose himself in the fantasy completely but he didn't want to move, it felt too good. Pressure started building in his groin, hips snapping faster as he selfishly chased his pleasure to its precipice.

 

“Fuck, yes,” Gavin huffed with each brush of the Alpha's cock across his sweet spot. “God, Geoff, _harder_.”

 

The name left his lips without a thought. He'd had so much practice whispering it alone in his room while spilling into his own hand that it felt almost effortless to utter it now. He whined when Dan stopped and pulled out of him.

 

“No! Wait, please, Dan, don't,” Gavin pleaded, scrambling to keep a hold on the Alpha's arms as his body was overcome with a new sense of emptiness. “I-I won't do it again. Don't be mad. I didn't mean it, I wasn't thinking, and – and – ”

 

“Gavin? Gavin, just listen to me for a second.”

 

But Gavin was talking over him in a high, nearly hysteric tone. “Just fuck me, Dan. Finish and just let me  _feel something_ other than drunk or stupid because I'm starting to forget that there's more after being tossed around like a dumb Omega bitch! So just _fuck me_ already!”

 

“Gavin!” Dan shouted, snatching both his wrists and holding them up. Gavin tried to get away but the Alpha was still between his legs and his hands were like anchors, face so undeniably kind and open even after what he'd just done to him. “Love? Settle down. You're going to give yourself a heart attack, okay? Look at you, B, you're shaking.”

 

Gavin stared at his fingers and saw how wildly they were twitching, the rush of pheromones and adrenaline and guilt sending pinpricks through his veins and into every limb. The things he'd said rushed through his mind and he blanched in shame. _What's wrong with me?_

 

“I'm so sorry, Dan.”

 

“Hush, love, it's okay,” Dan leaned up and kissed him sweetly on the forehead, then the cheek, and broad thumbs rubbed at slowing pulse in his wrists. “You're torn up. I should've seen it earlier. And you're a bit sloshed, yeah?”

 

Gavin tried to smile but it kind of hurt. “Yeah.”

 

“Why don't you lay down for a tic and let me get some stuff, alright?” Dan offered, carefully moving the Omega until he was on his stomach and his head was cradled by the pillow. Gavin's little whine of protest turned into a hum when his friend's strong fingers traced down the curves of his back, a gentle petting to calm him down. It worked more than he wanted to admit.

 

Dan disappeared for only a minute, maybe more, but when he came back his scent had changed. It wasn't wanting, it didn't hold the siren call of a potential mate or a capable Alpha. It was just the sweet, light smell of his best friend. With a few hushed words he gently cleaned him up with a cool, wet cloth. Slick and sweat and precum were wiped away like it never happened. He was wriggled into a fresh pair of underwear. Another washcloth, just as cool as the other, cleaned the dried tears off his cheeks and pressed to wherever he was flushed.

 

“There you go.” The Alpha bundled him up in the blankets. He wanted to complain about being tucked it but it felt like nesting. It felt good. “You want me in the guest room?”

  
“Stay with me, B.”

 

“Always.”

 

o0o0o0o

 

The next morning was tense. Geoff could practically taste the tension in the air but he made breakfast anyway, hoping that food would help any of the boys sitting around his kitchen table open up. Dan had a dark expression and a brood but he was all smiles when Gavin looked his way. It was a silent ride to the office. The obvious friction among his little pack made the Alpha's teeth itch but there was nothing he could do. He gently prodded, trying to get something out of them, but he could only handle so many curt replies before he gave up.

 

o0o

 

“He was messing around with Dan last night,” Michael hissed the moment he was alone with Geoff in the AH office. He slapped a hand on the Alpha's chair arm, puffed up like a cat and glaring like he was challenging him to do something about it. “His ex-boyfriend. In the same God damn house as us. Tell me that doesn't piss you off?”

 

Geoff made a swiping gesture. “I said it before. If Dan makes him happy-”

 

“This is such bullshit, Geoff! You're in love with him!”

 

Geoff's shut his mouth so suddenly his teeth clacked.

 

“See! I knew it!”

 

“Would you keep your voice down?”

  
“Stop acting like a father and start acting like an Alpha!”

 

Geoff stood and got right in his face, grabbing the Omega by the belt and pulling him flush. Michael's scowl didn't waver but he did shudder under the fierce look. “You are my Omega, Michael. _You_. I love Gavin with everything I have but I would never, _ever_ , make you feel like I didn't want you. Neither of you are second to me.”

 

“I said-”

 

“You said you wanted to 'play' with him, and you have,” Geoff snapped. “But I'm not going to _play_ with Gavin. If I do this it'll be a hundred percent. You've never once said anything about actually bringing him into this. Never seriously. So what the hell do I have to be angry about besides that someone else played with your toy?”

 

“He's not a _toy_ ,” Michael spat, cheeks and eyes burning as his heart gave a sad lurch. “I want him, Geoff. He's our third. We're both so in-fucking-love with him that's embarrassing and if I see one more person touch him without our scents on him I'm going to start breaking fingers. I can't be anymore serious than that.”

 

“Okay, okay,” Geoff soothed, wrapping his arms around his Omega's waist and letting him rest his head on is shoulder. “I didn't know you felt this strongly, I swear. I didn't know you loved him.”

 

“Well I fucking do,” the younger groaned, grabbing a handful of hoody and holding tight. “And I want him now. I'm sick and tired of waiting around for him to get it through his thick head. I've been trying everything I can think of besides fucking him and he's being an idiot.”

 

Geoff nodded and stroked through the growing curls. “Alright.”

 

“Alright?” Michael echoed, moving back to gape up at him. “We're really doing this?”

 

“We can sit him down after Dan leaves and we'll talk about it. Like adults,” Geoff pressed. “But you need to behave. Dan's only here for two more days and I don't want you fucking up Gavin's time with him. He's your friend, if you still remember that past all that anger.”

 

Michael rolled his eyes but nodded.

 

Geoff pinched his cheek. “Look at you, all territorial. My little Alpha.”

 

“Shut the fuck up.”

 

o0o

 

Michael could only be nice for so long. He tried his best to cheer Gavin up but the Brit seemed to be lost in his own thoughts, smiling slightly before walking off every time. After the fourth brush off he stormed out and went to the break room to find a Red Bull to try and caffeinate his way out of his terrible mood. He'd agreed to wait. Geoff had reasoned that it was better to let the Brits fix whatever happened between them before they approached him properly.

 

But of course it was Dan in the break room. Alone. _Little British fuck._

 

“Hey,” Dan greeted tartly, digging through a cabinet for energy bars.

 

_So much for keeping a promise to my Alpha._

 

Michael pulled a sour face as he made for the fridge. “Have a good night?”

 

“The best,” Dan replied flippantly.

 

“It must be nice to get some tail on leave.”

 

The cabinet slammed shut. “I'm sorry?”

 

Michael squared his shoulders, meeting the soldier's eyes without fear. “Gavin's not your God damn booty call.”

 

Dan looked taken aback but not for long. “You have no right to say that. You and Geoff have been messing with him for who knows how long and you've got him all turned around. If he didn't beg me not to, I would've beat your arse into the ground the moment I found out.”

 

“And what did you find out, Gruchy?”

 

“I found out you've made my best mate feel like a fucking _slag_ ,” Dan accused hotly, the image of Gavin half-sobbing and grasping at him like he was going to disappear still burned behind his eyelids. His hands balled into fists. “Anyone else...I swear to God...he's so amazing and he keeps wasting his time on complete tossers.”

 

“Well, he did date you,” Michael countered with the same heat. “And he fucking left you, remember?”

 

Dan's jaw ticked beneath his skin. “I thought you lot were good people. I really did. I've never been so disappointed in my bloody life.”

 

“Stop acting like a fucking martyr in all this!”

 

“I thought we were friends!” Dan lamented, “I thought you all cared about Gavin. For God's sake – I thought he was safe here.”

 

“We were! And he is! At least he was at least before you came strutting back,” Michael scoffed. “You're the one fucking everything up.”

 

The Alpha gaped in disbelief. “Me?”

 

Michael crossed his arms over his chest. “We were working up to courting him, asshole. Then you had to come along and suck his dick in _our_ house.”

 

“Geoff's house.”

 

The Omega flashed his teeth. “ _Our_ house. _Our pack's_ house.”

 

Dan jerked back as if he'd physically felt the jab. He tried to recover, tan fingers raking through his messy dark hair. “What the hell is wrong with you and your bloody Alpha? Were you dropped on your skulls as a kid or did neither of you pay attention in presenting classes? You can't be in a bloody relationship and then fuck around with an Omega who's in love with you both!”

 

“It's not my fault Gavin's fucking dense!”

 

“If you gave a shite about him you'd know you have to beat him over the head with stuff!”

 

“Listen, Gruchy, you're the ex. Gavin's future is with us.”

 

“With you?” Dan sneered. “With two people who don't even have the balls to admit that they supposedly care about him? He'd be better off alone.”

 

“We had to work through some stuff but that doesn't mean we care about Gavin any less.”

 

“It's only courting if everyone involved knows it's happening!”

 

Michael could feel the last of his control slipping. “You think you're so fucking charming and that everyone will fall all over themselves to appease Prince Dan but I'm not going to let you swoop in here and steal him when I'm _this_ close to finally having him.”

 

Dan's tongue clicked in disapproval. “Maybe you wouldn't have to worry so much about me if you'd treat him like a person instead of an Omega toy to be fought over.”

 

“I am so fucking tired of hearing that,” Michael growled, vision starting to tunnel.

 

“If you didn't act like such a child...”

 

He ignored every logical thought that told him not to. _He's a soldier. He's Gavin's favorite person. He's my friend. He's a good man. He's an Alpha._ All of that was thrown out the window and he started at him with the intent to sock him in the jaw or maybe jab him in the ribs or who knows what, and Dan sensed it. Military training and Alpha instincts reacted the moment he was in striking distance. Michael was dragged into a headlock and accidentally made an embarrassingly pitiful Omega chirp, arms flailing for purchase as pressure settled on his throat. He heard Dan apologize and explain that he needed to calm down, but the authoritative tone of his voice only fueled the red veil that had fallen over him.

 

This Alpha was a threat.

 

Michael grabbed Dan's arm with both hands, tilted his chin down, and sunk his teeth into the paler flesh of his inner forearm. The Alpha jerked and tried to take his arm back but Michael was stronger than he looked and he held on, clamping his canines in harder. They weren't as naturally sharp as Alphas were but he ground them in as well as he could. Copper flooded his mouth but he just clenched his eyes shut and dug deeper.

 

o0o

 

“What the bloody hell is going on here?!”

 

Gavin came into the break room just in time to see Dan winding back his fist to punch his friend in the head. He rushed forward and waved him off, begging him to hold on. Michael was chomping on him rather good and the Omega looked dazed, flushed and ruffled, driven by those destructively raging instincts. He pressed his thumb and forefinger into each side of Michael's jaw and managed to pry it open enough for Dan to slip his arm out. The other Omega's eyes were blown out when they blinked at him, teeth stained pink with the Alpha's blood.

 

Geoff and Ryan quickly followed, looking between the three younger men.

 

“Did he...?” Geoff stared at the bloody ring of teeth marks on Dan's arm. “Michael!”

 

“He said – ” Michael shut his mouth when he saw the murderous glare on Geoff's face.

 

“Do I look like I care?” Geoff asked through grit teeth, his boyfriend shook his head. “Dan?”

 

The younger Alpha's nostrils flared.

 

“I can't do this,” Geoff sighed, rubbing a hand over his eyes.

 

Gavin grabbed his boy by the shoulder and pointedly dug his fingers in. “We're going to have a chat.”

 

Michael scowled. “Fine with me.”

 

“Yeah, you two talk,” Geoff sounded a thread away from losing it and retreating to the office for a drink. “I need to go talk to Matt about liability in case you just gave Dan fucking _rabies_.”

 

“I'm fine.” Dan dropped his arm but his lip stayed curled back, the Alpha side of his brain telling him there could still be an attack. Ryan approached slowly, a small smile on his face to show he didn't mean any harm. Dan growled softly and hid his arm at first but Ryan reached for him with that same slow insistence he himself used on spooked Omegas. After two grabs he finally let the older Alpha take his wrist and lift it up, showing off the pin pricks of scarlet all along the deep teeth impressions.

 

“This really does need cleaned,” Ryan hummed, moving his arm back and forth to examine the bite. “I've got some stuff at my desk.”

 

“B?” Dan asked, looking a the other Brit.

 

Gavin nodded, still holding on to the other Omega. “Go. I'll come get you in a minute.”

 

“If he puts a hand on you...”

 

Michael looked pissed at the accusation.

 

 “I'll be fine,” Gavin promised. “Let Rye-bread play nurse for a bit.”

 

o0o

 

Gavin dragged his boy back to the AH office and kicked Jack out. “Give us a minute.”

 

The Beta just nodded and left, reading the tension in the Omegas bodies.

 

“What is wrong with you?” Gavin growled, the rough noise foreign and strange in his usually happy voice. “You're my best mate, you're my boy, but Dan's my oldest friend. He's helped me through _everything_. He mowed lawns for a month to save up enough money to come see me after I presented. He's beat up every bully who's ever pulled my hair or made fun of my nose. He was the first Alpha to knot me.” His cheeks got ruddy but he didn't stop. “I care about him. I mean, _really_ care. I'd do anything for him. But I care about you too.”

 

Michael had his back to him, rinsing out his mouth with some water that had been sitting on Ray's desk.

 

“He's so wonderful, I don't understand why you've been like this to him.” Gavin didn't want to pout but he was close, the stress from the night before spilling into him now. “I know you usually hate Alphas but he's not like that.”

 

“I saw you two last night,” Michael stated, turning around to meet his surprised gaze. 

 

“I know,” Gavin replied meekly. “I, uh, saw you too. I shouldn't have done that on the couch.”

 

“Are you two getting back together or...?” Michael let the question hang.

 

“No, 'course not,” the Brit answered quickly. “I didn't want to give him the wrong idea but we're just best mates is all.”

 

Michael prickled at the casualness of the statement. “So you were just slutting it up, huh?”

 

Gavin gaped before his lips twisted in an ugly grimace. “Fuck you, Michael Jones.”

 

It was Michael's turn to flinch.

 

“You have _no idea_ how hard it is to smell you and Geoff all the time and not have anyone to go to bed with,” Gavin agonized. “You flaunt yourselves in front of me and I didn't care but you kept _kissing_ me and touching me and it's bloody _cruel_. You say he's my Alpha but then you lot disappear together and I get to remember that I'm still alone.”

 

He made himself look away and took a steadying breath.

 

“You two are lucky to have each other.” His mind flashed with Burnie's face above him and all the different Beta guys he'd blown in bathroom stalls. “Unless I decide to boff strangers, Dan is one of the few Alphas I can trust completely. He even agreed not to knot me last night before I bollocksed it all up."

 

"What?" Michael's expression was absolutely devastated, voice reduced to a raspy whine of disbelief. "You _fucked_ him?"

 

Gavin felt like complete trash for a moment before he realized he had nothing to apologize for. "Don't you dare try to guilt me. He was just helping me out a bit. Do you know how long since I've had a proper shag? For fuck's sake, quit being a stupid git about this."

 

Teethe raked across the other Omega's lower lip. "You shouldn't have to be looking."

 

"What's that supposed to mean?" Gavin shot back. "You know I go out all the time and come back alone. It's bloody embarrassing."

 

“They don't deserve you!”

 

“Michael!” Gavin gasped as he was grabbed by the lapels and shoved against the door. Michael smashed their mouths together, more teeth and pressure at first than an actual kiss. Gavin's eyes were wide, staring cross-eyed at the other Omega whose face was all scrunched up like it did when he was really angry. It took a moment before the contact softened. Eyes closed as it turned into a real kiss, their first one where they weren't drunk. It was so much nicer to kiss his boy without beer souring it up. He got more of that sweet Coke taste and he loved it.

 

Michael slowly pulled back but he refused to let go of the Brit's shirt.

 

“Are you jealous, Michael?” Gavin questioned, voice soft to pacify the sharp instincts that were still driving the Omega.

 

“Fuck you, I hate that word.” It wasn't a refute. “I just don't like seeing you with assholes who aren't good enough for you.”

 

“Dan's way too good for me,” Gavin countered.

 

“Bullshit,” Michael touched the edges of his jaw, venom draining from his voice. “No one's good enough for you, Gav.”

 

He chewed the chapped swell of his lip, tasting the other Omega there. “Not even you?”

 

Michael smiled for the first time in the better part of an hour. “Especially not me.”

 

Someone knocked on the door and Michael jerked away, a brief flash of fear going across his face before he retreated to his chair. Gavin opened up the door and there stood Geoff looking much more tired than he had this morning. The Alpha walked in and locked the door behind him, staring between his boys.

 

“Is this guy giving you problems?” Geoff drawled in a weak attempt to lighten the mood.

 

“Nah. He's just being a tit.”

 

He eyed his boyfriend. “If you say so.”

 

“About in there...Geoff, I don't know what happened. Michael said that...well...”

 

A heavy thud made their heads whip towards Michael, the Omega's palms flat on his desk.

 

“I am so done.” Michael declared. “These rules and standards are crap. Who says there has to be one Alpha and one Omega? And why don't Omegas ever get together? It's not _fair_!” He smacked his hands on the desk again, making Gavin jump. “I'm just as good as any Alpha!”

 

Geoff went up behind him, rubbing along his shoulders and kiss the exposed skin along the back of his neck. “Shh, baby-boy. You know you are. You just didn't handle it well back there."

 

“Fuck you,” the words quivered through the air.

 

Gavin watched with open longing as Geoff scented the other Omega and massaged his back as he came back to himself. When the Alpha finally looked back to him there nothing but tenderness in his eyes. “There's something we wanted to ask you. He was a little tense.”

 

“A 'little tense', Geoff? He _bit_ Dan!”

 

“I know,” Geoff made a face, glancing at the hunched shoulders of his Omega as he thought of a way to punish him and relieve stress for both of them. “But it's serious.”

 

Gavin's lips pursed. “Well what the bloody hell was important enough to make him snap like that?”

 

“We wanted to ask you to join us.”

 

o0o

 

Dan was led into the back of the building by the older Alpha. They'd stopped at the bathroom so he could clean the bite with soap and water. He guarded his arm from any wandering eyes and tried to rinse out all those leftover hormones that had him geared up for a fight. There was hardly anyone in the Annex. It seemed that Friday had settled in on the employees and they'd all but abandoned the place.

 

After a gesture to sit down, Dan perched himself on the edge of the Alpha's desk. Ryan took out the first aid kit and started sorting through it, pulling out everything he'd need and lining it up. He didn't look at him at first but when the did the older man's eyes threatened to cut through him.

 

“I know you're perfectly capable, but do you want me to do it?” Ryan asked in that low voice of his. Dan had always been particular to naturally deep voices like that and despite the worry over Gavin and the irritation at Michael, he found himself smiling. He offered his arm, nodding shyly.

 

Ryan ripped open a disinfectant swab and pulled out the cloth. He took Dan's wrist between his fingers and started to clean the bite mark. “This looks nasty. Michael is...spirited.”

 

“Little wanker,” Dan grumbled. “This isn't the first time I've been bit, though. Usually Omegas are pretty calm around me.”

 

“I can see that,” Ryan agreed, reswiping to make sure he got the smears the red. “Your scent's very calming.”

 

Dan felt a little flutter in his belly. “You think so?”

 

Ryan nodded, pressing his knuckle to the wound to make sure it wasn't hot with early infection. “Mmhm. It's nice.”

 

Dan let his arm go lax so the man could move it around how he pleased. _He thinks I smell nice_.

 

Ryan laid a fresh swatch of gauze on the bite. “I understand your concern about Gavin. Geoff and Michael can be strange and they've been dancing around him for a while. I can't really say anything without being a hypocrite but I do think they should have handled it all different. It's unfortunate how convoluted it all got. You came in at a strange time.”

 

“You knew about this?”

 

“We all do,” Ryan admitted, putting some medical tape at the edges to keep it in place. “If it's any consolation, they really do love him. They're just being assholes about it.”

 

Dan puffed out a breath. “What has B got himself into?”

 

“We're all kind of on top of each other here.” Ryan made sure the bandage was laying flat before he looked up into the younger Alpha's eyes again. “I think it'll be a little tense at the Ramsay compound tonight. You're welcome to stay with me. I have a very comfortable couch.”

 

“Really?” Dan nervously wet the inside of his lips. “Not to push it or anything, mate, but why are you being so nice about all this? We're friends and all, but...I dunno'.”

 

Ryan started to put everything away. “I know what it's like to be a softer Alpha that gets underestimated all the time. Fortunately, you have a nice military background to fall on. I had to get my ass beat a lot before I made it work for me.”

 

“You? _You_ had trouble?” Dan marveled. “Bloody hell, I can't believe that.”

 

“Maybe one day I'll tell you all about it.”

 

“With bevs, I'm sure.”

 

“Sure.”

 

o0o0o0o

 

Ray got a picture message while he and Joel were stealing a moment to have breakfast. Lips still around his fork, he unlocked the phone and pulled up the message. “Oh.”

 

“Hm?” Joel hummed around his waffles.

 

“Dan the Man being an adorable shit.”

 

The picture was of Dan sprawled out on Ryan's familiar couch. The young Alpha was in his boxers and a shitty rumpled band t-shirt, eyes closed and mouth open in sleep. He had a blanket twisted around him and a leg thrown over the back of the couch, arms flung this way and that. He looked good, tan and healthy, but there was a bandage on his arm. The caption read _Couch surfing at its finest._

 

Ray texted his friend and asked what Dan was doing there when Geoff had an entire guest room ready to use. Ryan's response came quick. _He needed a night away from the boys and a good meal._

 

A flush of heat went through the Omega's body and he had to put the phone down. Dan staying with Ryan for a night or two...why was that hot? Ryan feeding the younger Alpha, making sure that bandage was changed, giving him stuff to make a bed on the couch with. It was the same domestic crap Geoff always did for them but this was _Ryan_ , one of the guys. There was a rush of blood down south and he had to adjust himself under the table.

 

Ryan taking care of him during his fever...Ryan pining Joel down and biting his neck...Ryan making a nest for Dan...

 

 _What the fuck?_ Ray knew he had an unhealthy obsession with his friend, but why were all those little things super attractive? Maybe it was because the dominating Alpha side of Ryan was so rarely seen. And a lot of that shit didn't even have anything to do with him.

 

“Joel, since this is an honest bro-trip and all...”

 

Joel groaned and shoved another bite of waffle into his mouth. “It's so early for this, kid.”

 

“Is it weird to find Alpha-on-Alpha shit hot?”

 

To his credit the older man didn't choke on his food. “What do you mean?”

 

“Like,” Ray drew out, lips curving up in a smirk, “When you and Ryan were wrestling around and he bit you like a little bitch.” That got him to choke. “What if I got off on that? Is that weird?”

 

“No, that makes you a kinky little fuck,” Joel snapped, but the color on his high cheeks wasn't from anger. “Jesus, kid, we're in public.”

 

“I'm just asking...”

 

Joel stabbed way too hard at his next bite. “No. It's not strange. It's a big show. Either for stupid Omegas like you or lesser Alphas. Didn't they teach you anything in New York public school?”

 

“Apparently not.”

 

Joel took a drink of coffee to calm his shaken nerves.

 

“I know Omegas scent with each other a lot and we can get real handsy with each other. I've felt all that,” Ray stated, leaning back in the booth and looking out the window. “What about Alphas? Do you guys fuck each other a lot or what?”

 

It took every ounce of willpower not to spit-take all over the table.

 

“Nope. No way. We are _not_ talking about this.”

 

“Was that a pun?”

 

Joel tried not to laugh but it was hard. "Ryan's courting you, right? Ask him."

 

"Maybe I will."

 

o0o0o0o

 

Gavin didn't want to let go of Dan.

 

“What if...?”

 

“Shut up,” Dan ordered playfully, nose pressed in tight to the Omega's hairline to memorize his scent. “I'll be back in two months. I switched with one of the lads so I could come back as soon as possible.”

  
“And then?”

 

“Six months, maybe eight,” Dan sighed sadly, thumb tracing the line of Gavin's shoulder blade through his shirt. “I don't have a long tour left. We've just gotta' stick it out, B.”

“I know.” Gavin kissed his cheek, letting his lips linger. “I just worry about you all the time and we can't Skype a lot and...and I mucked up this visit.”

 

“No you didn't,” Dan swore, glancing at the little group that had seen him off. “Are you going to be alright with them?”

 

“ 'Course I will,” he chuckled, hands still tight on the soldier's waist. “We haven't really talked too much about, I keep putting it off, but I already feel a bit better. Guess they weren't playing with me after all.”

 

“Keep me updated,” Dan demanded, reaching up and letting his palm lay along the Omega's sharp jaw. “One more kiss before I go?”

 

Gavin didn't even hesitate before he bounced up and took his mouth, lips sliding together easily. It was full of affection and hope, but the spike of lust was gone. This wasn't a salacious seduction, this was a plea to come back safe and sound. A promise that there were people who loved him waiting and that he had a home to return to even here in America.

 

“Don't let them hurt you,” Dan whispered as they broke apart.

 

Gavin saw that Michael had gotten all red but Geoff had slung an arm around the Omega to keep him in check. “No worries, B. I think they'll be a lot more careful in the future.”

 

* * *

 

**So...how was it? *hesitantly hopeful***

 


	48. Ryan and Ray XI

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin isn't taking the pressure well, but the R&R Connection believe in him.
> 
> -
> 
> "My knob is broke."
> 
> (aka: There's no crying in video games)

Ryan had been walking around in a daze for nearly three days before Ray finally commented on it. He perched on the arm of the couch as the Alpha half slumped on his make-shift desk, glasses put aside and eyes closed. There were little dark marks under his eyes that certainly weren't there during their date night during the weekend. The Omega put his fingers to the other's forehead looking for a fever.

 

“You feeling alright?” Ray asked. His hand was taken within the Alpha's own and a kiss was pressed to the back of it.

 

“I'm fine,” Ryan sounded exhausted, even more so than when they were recording.

 

“Big, fat liar,” Ray teased, sliding down until his ass hit the cushion. He braced a hand on the other side of Ryan's lap, smiling into the Alpha's face. “Are you getting sick?”

 

“I'm just tired,” he assured him, taking the Omega's fingers and bringing his hand up to rub his cheek on the smooth skin of his inner wrist. Ray hummed, the gentle motion giving him those usual little butterflies. They stole little moments like this to scent throughout the day. It kept the Omega relaxed and it honestly made them happier, funnier, during recordings. Geoff always snapped at him to keep their hands to themselves but they were pretty bad about listening.

 

“Little more than tired,” Ray remarked, trying not to get distracted as the dark pink of the Alpha's lips traced a vein further down his arm. He forced himself to pull his hand away and look him square in the eyes. “Really, Rye. You're practically dragging your feet. Should I start sawing off the shotguns? How soon do I have before you're going to want my brains instead of my sparkling company?”

 

Ryan knew when he'd been caught. They'd only been courting for a month but they were friends long before that and the Omega was getting good at looking through his cool persona. “I haven't been sleeping well.” Ray cocked his head with an incredulous look. “At all, really. It's just a bit of insomnia.”

 

“Which you've probably been filling with work, which made it worse,” Ray continued. “I've been there, man. Sucks.”

 

“Yeah.” Ryan's eyes fell shut for a moment, true exhaustion coming over his face before he made himself perk up. “It really does.”

 

“I have an idea,” Ray began lightly. “My online buddies want to do a COD marathon and we were planning a Monster-fueled all-nighter. You can come over and sleep in my bed. I'll have headphones so it'll be quiet. And you always blather on in your college words about how much you like my scent.” He lowered his voice, smoothing a wrinkle in the Alpha's shirt a little more firmly than necessary.

 

Ryan swallowed nervously. “I don't want to take your bed.”

 

“But you could,” Ray pressed with a little placating note in his words. “You could sleep in my bed, in the house, protecting little old me from all the big bad Alphas in the world who might sneak into the window or whatever happens in Omega horror stories. And then you can make breakfast.”

 

Ryan finally grinned. “I feel like I'm being used for food here.”

  
“Maybe. But after you leave I get to sleep in a bed that smells like you. It's a win-win-” Ray touched the tip of the Alpha's nose, blue eyes going crossed before they blinked and straightened. “ _Win_.”

 

The idea was tempting. “We're still courting, you know? We've never spent the night together.”

 

“You big fucking perv,” Ray ribbed, ignoring the twist of anticipation in his stomach as he thought of all the things they had yet to explore. “I don't think you'd have the energy for me.”

 

A large palm dropped on his knee, Ryan's eyes gleaming as his thumb tucked under the boy's shorts. “Don't be too sure.”

 

“Old man,” Ray tried to tease but the touch was making him tremble.

 

“You really wouldn't mind?” Ryan asked, fingers massaging the younger man's knee before settling safely on his bare calf.

 

“Just fucking do it.”

 

“Who could argue with that logic?”

 

o0o

 

Ray kept his trash talking to a quiet growl, the light from the kitchen soft enough to keep the TV screen clear and the strain off his eyes. He finished his fourth Monster, crushed it, and lined it up next to its three fallen brothers. It was getting close to two in the morning but he wasn't feeling tired, not yet. There was a heavy, giddy feeling in his chest that never quite faded thanks to the Alpha he knew was sleeping soundly in his bedroom. He'd checked on him about an hour ago, and even with the dim light Ryan had never looked so peaceful. Hair tossed across the pillow, lips parted to let slow breaths through, and slight twitch of his fingers outstretched on the covers.

 

 _I am so fucking lucky_ , Ray mused, the same happy smile on his face that he had been wearing all night. He had a handsome Alpha in his fucking bed and he'd been rinsing the other players all night. He was feeling damn good about himself when there was a knock at the door.

 

“AFC. Bump me out of the next round.” he said into the mic before he put his headphones down around his neck, peering curiously at his front door. He checked his phone but there was no text. The guys usually warned him before they came over and no one had said anything to him at work earlier. There was another knock and the thuds startled him, eyes shooting to the bedroom door. He didn't know it for certain but a woken-up Ryan was probably a pissy-Ryan and he didn't want the Alpha to go all bitey on one of their friends or someone who was lost. The Omega put his headphones on the table and jumped up, bare feet scratching across the carpet as he shuffled to the door. He peeked through the hole and saw a wild mess of light brown hair.

 

He unlatched the chain and flipped the locks before pulling it open. “Gavin?”

 

The Brit was sloshed. His face was all blotchy and his eyes were glazed, his clothes tighter than usual. He looked poured into his outfit down to the tan faux-leather jacket, the material clinging tight to his chest and slim shoulders. When he smiled it was sloppy, hands braced on the door frame for balance as his knees wobbled.

 

“X-Ray,” Gavin breathed in relief.

 

“Vav?” Ray frowned, grabbing the Omega by the sleeve and tugging him inside so he could relock everything, “Dude, you're fucking drunk. Did you drive?”

 

“Talked some nice Beta bird at the bar to drop me off,” Gavin replied, kicking off his shoes loudly and sprawling his mile-long legs on the couch. “She had some nice tits.”

 

“Good for her,” Ray grumbled, taking his seat back and putting his headset back around his neck and his controller in his hands. “What the hell were doing out at a bar this late? And why didn't you just go back with her?”

 

Gavin was quiet for half a game and the younger Omega got concerned so he looked over. The other was sniffling and uselessly wiping at his eyes with his sleeves. He was trying not to cry but a drunk-Gavin was a hopeless-Gavin. “Jesus, dude, what happened?”

 

“My dick is broke,” Gavin slurred, digging the edge of his palm into his eye as his mouth pinched tight to keep from making any other sounds. “I thought I could fuck around a bit but I don't even want anyone now. I'm ruined. And now I'm looking at Omegas. Knots are great and all but Omegas have pretty knobs 'cause they're always so smooth and I think they're softer too. Do you notice that?”

 

Ray blinked at him, his character dying on screen unnoticed. “Uh.”

 

“I saw Michael's a while back,” Gavin revealed, head sunk deep in the couch cushion. “It's the tasty pink. Like, _really_ pink. Gorgeous.”

 

Ray cringed. “ _Dude_.”

 

“I bet yours is pretty too, X-Ray.”

 

Ray turned his attention back to he game, deciding to just let the other be weird by himself until he sobered up or passed out. Gavin may have been drunk off his ass but he was still quick. Ray had no idea the other Omega was moving until he was practically on top of him, long fingers grabbing his chin and turning his head for a surprise kiss. The younger squeaked, eyes going wide behind glasses as a bitter tongue snaked between his lips. Gavin's kiss was too hard and sloppy, mouth clumsy but insistent.

 

“You're so cute,” Gavin cooed, rubbing his palm kind of painfully through the younger Omega's hair. “Why didn't we ever hook up, X-Ray? We'd look real good together, I bet.”

 

“Gavin,” Ray said slowly, carefully peeling the Omega off of him and putting him back in his seat. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand but he didn't stop smiling reassuringly. “You're really drunk, man, and you're upset about something. So why don't you stop trying to hump your way out of it and just tell me what's up?”

 

Gavin immediately looked repentant, tucking his back into the couch arm and starting to curl the long line of his body in on itself. Ray sighed and grabbed him, dragging the Omega over so they were sitting side by side. Gavin tried to get away but he held him close, refusing to let him hide any longer.

 

“You can tell me anything, Vav.”

 

“I'm scared,” Gavin finally confided. “Geoff and Michael, they...they said they wanted me to join them. Michael kissed me and he wasn't drunk this time. It was...real nice.”

 

 _Tonight is just full of surprises._ “Are you fucking kidding me? This is great, right? You've all been crushing on each other for a long-ass time.”

 

“But they're so good together, X-Ray,” Gavin droned miserably. “They love each other and I think they love me but if I cock it all up I'll never forgive myself. I'm an annoying shit and I know I get on their nerves.”

 

Ray rolled his eyes. “And yet they still want you to get in on all that action. Weird. It's like they care about you or something. Have you guys talked about this, like, for real?"

  
"They want to but I keep running off. Literally. I hoofed it to the nearest bar when Geoff tried to corner me tonight."

 

"You're a fucking idiot." There was a fond exasperation in his voice. "You need to sit down with them and do that whole adult-conversation thing. I know it's scary but it's better than this, isn't it?"

 

"Has to be." Gavin let out a little moan, fingers raking through his hair and making it stand up even more. “You should have seen how angry Michael was at Dan. Geoff made him apologize to Dan for like half an hour for biting him and trying to start shit. Nothing like having two guys fighting over you.”

 

Ray thought of Joel and Ryan wrestling around on the floor and had to bite his lip to keep from making a similar sound. “It's _something_ , man.”

 

“An Omega fighting for me...” Gavin sighed and flopped down into the younger man's lap, stretching his arms above his head so hard he was sure the seams of his jacket were going to pop. “It's everything I didn't know I wanted.”

 

A creak of the bedroom door cut through the room. Ryan padded out towards them, rubbing his eyes as they tried to adjust to the light. The clothes he'd brought to sleep in were threadbare and soft looking. He looked ruffled but curious. “Did I hear you kissed Michael?”

 

Ray felt his skin prickle at the roughness in the Alpha's voice. _Well, fuck me._

 

“Rye-bread!” Gavin called, smiling when the older man leaned on the pack of the couch and peered down at him with half-lidded eyes. “You're here!”

 

“I am.”

 

“He's kissed me a couple times now,” the Omega admitted happily. “He's such a good kisser, Rye. So's Geoff. They want me in with 'em. Did you know that?”

 

“I guessed,” Ryan replied lowly, still half-asleep as he pet through the Omega's soft hair. Gavin chirped and moved up into it, curling further into Ray's lap like a giant cat. “There you go. I bet you're tired.”

 

“So tired,” Gavin breathed, nose digging in to Ray's stomach to get big lungfuls of his sweet scent. “I kissed Ray. 'M sorry.”

 

Ryan was only mildly surprised but he let it go. “It's okay.”

 

“You two are so lucky and cute,” Gavin breathed, eyes falling shut after a brief fight to keep them open. “So easy.”

 

“Just sleep it off, buddy,” Ryan ordered softly.

 

Gavin was snoring in less than a minute.

 

Ray carefully scooted away and tucked a pillow under his friend's head, rubbing a thumb just behind his ear for a moment before letting him settle down into the couch. “You're good with him, man.”

 

“We've been friends for a long time now, I think I'm getting used to his little quirks,” Ryan said thoughtfully, letting his gaze linger a little longer on Gavin before the gave the younger Omega a kiss on the head. “How was the kiss?”

 

“It tasted like ass whiskey.”

 

“Mm. Good old ass whiskey.”

 

Ray let the Alpha take his hand and drop a kiss on that as well. “You should go back to bed.”

 

Lips bussed over his palm as warm words were whispered into the flesh. “Whatever my Queen commands.”

 

Ray smiled shyly at the phrase. “You haven't called me that in a while.”

 

“I'm courting you now.” Ryan's blunt fingers traced a line across his forehead, lips pulling in a teasing grin. “I don't have to subtly flirt anymore.”

 

“That was flirting?” he gaped. “I thought – I don't know, man – I thought you were just being nice.”

 

Ryan just shook his head. “You're as dense as he is.”  _  
_

o0o

 

Gavin practically fell all over himself apologizing the next morning but the two just made him calm down and assured him that he was drunk and upset and that they didn't mind. Ryan made enough food for all three of them and drove the Brit home once he'd procrastinated as much as he could. Ray rode with them and promised his Vav that no matter what - he was here, they both were, and they supported him.

 

"Don't you cry. There's no crying in my car."

 

"I'm  _not_! Stop being such a bully, Ryan."

 

* * *

 

  **"my Queen"??! Scenting around the office?!**

**What the fuck are they talking about? Stay tuned for later drabbles that show how the "Mad Queen" came to be and what really kicked off all those King Ryan dreams and Raywood-scenting before they started courting (and after). Out-of-sequence, remember? *evil snickering***

 

 


	49. Ryan and Ray XII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How did Ryan and Ray start their scenting routine? How much is Ryan affected? (Takes place before Ryan asks Ray to court him.)
> 
> -
> 
> “Take it slow. Breathe a little deeper. I’m not going anywhere.”

**( _art by[0dalesque](http://archiveofourown.org/users/0dalesque/pseuds/0dalesque), you have no idea how much I appreciate it_ )**

 

**This is a throw-back chapter. This is BEFORE Ryan asks Ray if he can court him. So this is just them building a relationship as an Alpha and Omega.**

 

* * *

 

 

Ray's coming-of-status party had opened up the Omega's eyes to a lot of things. Alphas could be assholes, he had a lot more friends than he realized, he didn't feel so strange in his own skin anymore, and scenting with Ryan was the best cure for anything.

 

“So, this is weird,” Ray began, catching Geoff alone in the break room. The Alpha glared at him over the rim of his cup but it didn't stop him. “Scenting with Ryan calms me down, like, a lot. Is that normal? For an Omega to like it that much?”

 

“Sure,” Geoff shrugged. “It's a sign of compatibility. It's a good thing, kid. Are you two courting?”

 

Ray looked down at the carpet, heart jumping up in his throat. “No. We're friends, you know that.”

 

“Mmhm.”

 

“ _Really_ ,” the Omega stressed. The idea was still a hopeful thought and he was still afraid that if he poked at it or pushed it, it would become unattainable. If it happened it happened but he didn't want to pressure Ryan in any way. The Alpha had shown some interest bt all those nagging insecurities kept him on edge. “So it's not too different?”

 

“No one honestly cares,” Geoff finally stated. “People do it all the time. And you're a new Omega so no one expects anything from you so – _whatever_.”

 

“So Ryan won't mind?”

 

“If he lets you do it, he doesn't mind.” His boss was quickly losing patience. “Don't you have something to do?”

 

o0o0o0o

 

Ryan noticed the new behavior a little at a time.

 

The gang went to Chipotle for lunch and they ended up in the back of an insanely long line that nearly went out the door. Ray was behind him and he could hear the boy's stomach growling. A hand curled around his arm and the Omega butted his forehead up against his shoulder.

 

“I'm so fucking hungry,” Ray grumbled into his shirt. “I think I waited too long.”

 

“Does your head hurt?”

 

He nodded.

 

“It's probably low blood sugar,” Ryan sighed, reaching behind him and curling an arm around the Omega. He ushered him in front of him but the line wasn't moving. Ray scowled and tucked up into his side, nose running along the line of his pec. Ryan scratched his nails through the boy's hair in hopes of distracting him from his rumbling belly. _Is he...is he scenting me?_

 

“You alright there, Ray?” Jack asked.

 

“He's fine,” Ryan answered automatically. “He's just hungry.”

 

“Pussy-whipped,” Michael sung under his breath, getting elbowed by his own Alpha.

 

o0o0o0o

 

They were trying to film a _GTA Let's Play_ but between Gavin constantly dying and Jack's Xbox blinking out every fifteen minutes and Michael's pissy little attitude they were all driven to the breaking point. Geoff was the first to snap when the server kicked him off for the second time. He jumped to his feet and started slamming his controller on the table, cursing loudly until the plastic exploded under his hand and bits of plastic went everywhere. The Omegas flinched in unison, shoulders hunched and heads ducked in pure instinct. The Alpha huffed and puffed but eventually just yelled _Let's fucking stop_ and stormed out.

 

Ryan took off his glasses and set them aside, rubbing his eyes as he fought off the first few pangs of a growing headache. He pushed his desk away to give himself a little breathing room but stopped when a shadow fell over him.

 

“Rye?”

 

Ryan looked up and saw Ray standing in front of him with a pinched expression on his face, hands rising in a silent question. The Alpha's heart melted and he nodded, a startled noise coming up in the back of his throat when Ray got into his lap. The Omega straddled his waist, grabbed two fistfuls of shirt, and rested his face in his shoulder. Ryan looked around the room but the others didn't seem to care besides a curious look from Michael. Gavin was slumped down in his chair in defeat and Jack was trying to see what was overheating his Xbox.

 

Ray hummed and pressed tight to him, curling in without shame.

 

Ryan wrapped an arm around him and pressed his nose into the mass of dark hair. Ray smelled divine and he felt wonderful against him, the new plump to his thighs making them almost plush resting against his hips. They'd scented a few times but never in the office and never in his lap. It was beyond their usual hair and wrist scentings but more satisfying. The Omega was obviously a little upset by the rough day they'd had so far and he wasn't about to deny him some solace.

 

He hushed him lightly and laid a hand on the back of his neck in that sweet grounding spot Ray had developed while he was changing.

 

o0o

 

It became the norm for Ray to jump on the couch with him during breaks or right after _Let's Plays_ , asking quietly to scent or just going for it when he was feeling particularly upset. The others got used to it but as Ray got more comfortable and started really getting into it they started to stare in a mixture of fascination and curiosity.

  
It wasn't just in the office either. Ray would snag him in the break room or on set before The Patch and steal a moment to nuzzle his neck and take in his scent. Ryan had never been one to deny an Omega the right to calm down, Gavin abused the privilege a lot and his exes had told him on multiple occasions that his scent was calming, but there was only so much he could take. He'd cared about Ray for so long – he'd fought Joel for him, he'd helped him through his change, he'd cultivated a very special affection for the Omega that was so close to love it hurt to think about. But Ray never mentioned courting or being ready for an Alpha and he wasn't going to push his desires if the boy wasn't ready. He was a rock for Ray, a safe point, someone he trusted to ground him. He wouldn't test that. If he was being honest with himself, he needed it almost as much as the Omega did. All that wonderful vanilla smell that he'd caught in it's raw, burnt form was the best medicine. He liked going home with it clinging to his clothes and the ends of his fingers. It was like they were – were –

 

_Like we're courting._

 

But it was so _hard_. Ray was beautiful and eager, so wonderfully easy to get scent-drunk. All Ryan had to do was rub the back of his neck and offer his throat to the boy and he was _gone_. And Ray had no idea how indecent he could get because Ryan was too much of a selfish coward to tell him to slow down and not _lick,_ for God's sake. Even if it killed him to keep it “platonic”, how could he say no to the kid when he looked so happy and soothed afterward?

 

He'd give the other anything and this was effortless to give.

 

People around the office started to talk. It would only be a matter of time before the outer circle of employees started spinning nasty gossip about Ray's behavior. It was unusual to scent so frequently and so openly with an Alpha who wasn't your mate but they didn't know them, they had no idea what the Omega had been through or their intentions. Their friends would never be so cruel and they were always quick to shield their youngest from any sharp barbs.

 

Ryan hated anything hurting the Omega, be it hurtful words or the insecurities that only existed in his head. If being sexually frustrated was the price, he was alright with that.

 

o0o0o0o

 

Michael was a master manipulator when he wanted to be. Somehow he’d convinced Geoff to go on a cross-city journey for the bet pick-up-only Chinese in Austin. And then he’d shoved Ray into his Alpha’s arms, giving big eyes and a sweet smile. “And take him with you. You guys have hardly bonded since he became an Omega. And Ryan can record the _Things To Do_ with Gavin at Ray’s desk. We get food, he gets to sit like a real human being, a video gets done while you’re gone – the stars have aligned for this fucking plan.”

 

Geoff had started to protest, claiming not be a babysitter, but Ray’s soft voice cut through it all. “I don’t mind.”

 

“Well, _fuck_. Alright, kid, get in the car. Let’s go have an adventure.”

 

Ryan was glad to be at Ray’s desk. It was cluttered but he was surrounded by the things that made his friend the happiest. When he sat down a light waft of sweetness came up all around him and he cleared his throat to make sure he didn’t start purring. He brought up the proper programs and let _Minecraft_ load, double checking the audio and video settings so they would only have to record this once. He heard the door lock. The hair on the back of his neck stood up as he finally understood what was happening – their Pack Alpha was gone as well as their youngest Omega, and he was in the corner.

 

Ryan turned in the chair, eyebrows shooting up to his hairline when he saw Jack was the one with his back to the door. “ _Et tu_ , Jack?”

 

The Beta pulled a sympathetic face. “He’s our friend, dude.”

 

Michael and Gavin crowded in on him, the curly haired Omega slapping a hand down on the desk and leaning over him with a gaze so sharp he could feel it against his skin. “So what the fuck are you pulling with Ray?”

“I-”

 

“You both are scenting like mad but you’re not _courting_ him – what the hell is all that about?” Gavin demanded hotly, hair looking especially ruffled like his agitation had manifested. “He's in your damn _lap_ almost every day now.”

 

“If you’re messing with him, Ryan, I swear to God,” Michael’s threat trailed off in an Alpha-esque growl. “He’s been following you around like a fucking puppy since you started working here. I don’t give a rat’s ass if you were there while he presented – you’re still his friend, you don’t own him, and he owes you fuck-all. If you’re dragging him along then you’re a bigger asshole than everyone says you are.”

 

Ryan winced as he recalled his reputation with some of the office. “Michael-”

 

“He smells like you all the time now,” Gavin frowned. “It’s not good for him to mix scents this much with someone who has no intention of dating him. It’s bloody cruel, Ryan.”

 

“He likes it!” the Alpha barked, shutting them both up. He felt bad for trying to push them over but their implications were starting to hurt. “I explained how scenting worked and the appropriate spots, but he likes doing it. You know how nervous he can get. Apparently I help that, and that shouldn’t be a bad thing.”

 

“But he’s all over you all the time.”

 

“It’s not _all_ the time, you’re exaggerating,” Ryan argued. “And it’s all platonic. I’m not ‘messing around with him’ or anything like that. I care about him just as much as you do.” _Much more than I want to admit._

 

Jack laughed, deep and amused. “Look at him, boys, he’s besotted.”

 

“ ‘Besotted’?” Michael scowled. “Like, in love or whatever?”

 

“You’re in so deep, Rye, you have no idea,” Jack teased, taking off his glasses to wipe the mirth from his eyes. The Omegas stared dully at Ryan before they broke out into matching grin.

 

“He’s blushing!”

 

“Oh my God, you’re in- _fucking_ -love with him.”

 

“Would you guys kindly shut the hell up already?”

 

“Jesus, how did we miss that one?” Michael laughed, moving away from the Alpha and throwing an arm over his boy’s shoulders. “But I don’t know where he gets this ‘platonic’ shit from.”

 

“Good friends don’t give each other great googly eyes when the other isn’t looking,” Gavin ribbed, fluttering his eye lashes to drive the point home. “I see you guys mooning at each other.”

 

“More like _mooing_ , am I right, boy?”

 

“So right, boy.”

 

“We are platonic,” Ryan stressed. “I don’t want you guys making him feel self-conscious about it.”

 

“If Ray doesn’t feel weird about jumping in your lap and practically making out with your neck in front of us then I don’t know what will,” Jack pointed out. “Which, I’d like to point out, is also not something platonic couples do.”

 

“It’s casual scenting.”

 

Michael snorted. “There’s no hickeys in ‘casual scenting’, bro.”

 

“He’s enthusiastic. And he's never left a mark.”

 

“You’ve got to at least tell him how it can come off,” Gavin strongly suggested. “I know I can be a bit thick, but all this dynamic stuff is really lost on him.”

 

“He told me he used to space out a lot in health and presenting classes. His parents are Betas so he just always thought he’d be one too and none of this would really matter. And he didn’t want to look it up on the internet because there’s a lot of false information out there,” Jack stated, catching the attention of everyone in the room. “What? Not one of you thought to ask why he’s so clueless about all this stuff?”

 

The other three exchanged a sheepish look.

 

“You guys are idiots.”

 

o0o0o0o

 

Ryan was in the middle of moving equipment when he got a text from Gavin explaining how their youngest was having a hell of a time with a particular COD achievement today. Apparently he was yelling like Michael for a while and now he'd gone dead quiet. He felt bad for him. Ray was particularly good at first-person shooters and he got genuinely angry when he couldn't figure it out.

 

He sat down a box spare parts beside his desk when someone spoke behind him. “You busy, man?”

 

Ryan straightened up, settling his sunglasses back from where they'd slipped a little down his head. “Ray?”

 

The Omega looked agitated, nose curled up and hands deep in his pockets.

 

“What's up?” he asked, though he was pretty sure of the answer already.

 

Ray reached out with one hand, the question all over his face. The Alpha sighed and took his hand, the usual pleasant tingle passing between their fingers. Ray would have never been so bold before his change but those lovely Omega instincts had laced into their friendship and now this was a normal occurrence along with the scentings.

 

“Rough gaming?” Ryan inquired, letting the younger man lead him toward the back of the Annex. There were towers of boxed equipment and props, dollies and extra bits, and plenty of privacy if one were to need it.

 

“I spent two hours trying to get one achievement and…it’s stupid. I don't want to talk about it,” Ray's voice was strained as he hopped up onto a solid cardboard breath, using the grip on his hand to drag the Alpha between his legs. “Come here.”

 

Ryan felt himself go warm all over as the Omega curled his arms around his shoulders and hooked sneakered heels behind his knees. There was a quiet plea in the solid touches. The younger man was giving off distress waves in bulk, a somber layer dragging down his usual upbeat nature. Even his eyes were sad. He couldn’t deny him. Not now. Not ever. He laid a hand on Ray’s back and another on the nape of his neck. They smelled warm and sweet together.

 

“Exactly what I needed,” the Omega confessed lowly. “You smell so good, Rye. Thanks for this.”

 

Ryan gasped lowly as Ray’s little tongue started flicking over his neck, concentrating on the increasing thump of his pulse like a dog with a bone. The kid had an oral fixation, he just knew it. No Omega he’d ever scented with, platonic or otherwise, had ever mouthed at his neck so much. There was a scrape of teeth and the sensation went straight to his dick.

 

“Ray,” he tried to sound firm but it took a few tries before he could lift his nose out of his fragrant hair. “Take it slow. Breathe a little deeper. I’m not going anywhere.”

 

Ray hummed in assent.

 

“You know, you should try scenting with Jack,” Ryan offered despite the stream of Alpha thoughts in the back of his head that demanded the Omega only share this with him. “His scent’s very cleansing. Maybe Geoff as well. He has the rest of the Lads all over him all the time and he’d be more than happy to do it.”

 

Ray picked up his head and sat back, blinking away the start of the daze that always came with taking in the Alpha’s scent for so long. “What?”

 

“I’m just saying that when you get uneasy, there are plenty of people who you can trust to do this with,” Ryan explained, fixing the boy’s collar to cover up some of that tempting neck.

 

Ray’s face fell and he released the Alpha completely, shifting further back on the box so he didn’t touch him at all. “Fuck. I’m doing it too much, aren’t I? I know we kind of smell like each other a lot, but you said before that you didn’t mind and – shit, I shouldn’t do it in front of people.” The Omega rubbed his hand over his face, jostling his glasses, working himself up. “It’s embarrassing, isn’t it? Having some Omega kid hanging off you. I knew I’d fuck this up.” The smile that Ray forced himself to wear was painful to look at. “I’m probably interfering with your dating game, huh?”

 

“Ray…”

 

“Do you not like it?” Ray’s breath was starting to hitch. “I’m making it weird, aren’t I?”

 

Ryan curled his fingers along the back of the Omega’s neck and pulled him back to the edge of the box, bare knees touching the outside of his thighs once more. Ray went quiet and his eyes threatened to fall shut. “I enjoy this as much as you do, don’t ever think otherwise. I just want to make sure you know you have options. Scenting this much with one person can inspire certain assumptions with other people.”

 

Ray’s head dropped onto his shoulder. “Oh. I don’t care about that.”

 

o0o0o0o

 

Ryan knew the moment he asked to take a week off to fly to Georgia to see his family all hell would break lose. But he was guilted. His grandmother kept lamenting about how she never got to see him and that she wouldn't be around forever and his mother nearly cried last time they spoke because she had been out of town on his last visit. He couldn't put them off anymore. They were blood, and he loved them. That and his teeth were itching to sink into the peaches that grew in the backyard of his old house.

 

 _Red vs Blue_ got backed up almost as soon as he was on the plane. Geoff and Gavin were pulled off Achievement Hunter duties and stuck into Burnie's part of the building. They hated being cooped up and kept away from Michael all day but direction and voices were needed. That meant the _Let's Build_ edits were heaped onto Ray's shoulders along with his own load of work. Ryan hadn't recorded anything in advance so that meant _Game Fails_ fell on Lindsay, who then had to push her editing off on someone else. From the angry texts he got from Geoff it was a huge domino effect and they were all kind of floundering.

 

Ryan returned and there was a great sigh of relief through the office. He spent the first four hours of his first Monday back fixing – what seemed like – _everything._ He had to work through lunch and his eyes were aching by the end of it. He hadn't stared at a computer screen in a week and it would take him some time to readjust.

 

But it was Ray who made him feel like he was coming home. He didn't see the Omega until it was almost two in the afternoon and a lethargic fog had settled on the Annex. There had been a new slump in his shoulders and his checkered shoes dragged across the cement floor.

 

“You look tired.”

 

That's how they ended up here. Surrounded by monitors and empty desks, shielded by temporary paper walls, wrapped up in one another, letting the world suspend around them. The chair was sturdy enough to comfortably hold the weight of them both. Ray was draped over his lap, the boy's legs hooking over his thigh and dangling over the side. The Omega was humming and chittering in the back of his throat, eyes closed and content as he nosed and kissed lightly at the older man's neck. His fingers were curled in the Alpha's shirt, fingers occasionally scrunching and bunching up fabric. The collar of it was kind of loose and easy to push back, giving him ample room to explore.

 

Ryan was buried deep in a heavy layer of protective Alpha instinct. He cradled his friend's waist, fingers idly counting ribs through the thin t-shirt. His other hand was firm along the back of Ray's neck, grounding him. Grounding them both, really. Though he usually let Ray do as he pleased during these encounters, he couldn't stop himself from running his nose through dark hair or behind the boy's ear to get every drop of warmth pouring off him. The Lad's scent coated his tongue like honey and he was starving for it after a week apart. _Jack was right. I'm completely besotted._

 

Ray's mouth started moving up blindly, searching on pure intuition for something he probably wasn't sure of. Ryan thumbed along the base of his hairline, a faint smile touching his lips. The Omega was truly embracing his new status, his sensitive nose sniffing out the strongest hormone spots. It was adorable and made him a little proud. Damp lips pressed onto the node beneath his jaw and he sighed, wanting to encourage him but he knew they were having a hard enough time keeping it strictly friendly as it was. He would never say anything for fear of embarrassing the innocent Lad but Ryan could smell and feel just how turned on he got by their little trysts. A faint swell in his loose shorts or the musk of pheromones but never anything that would catch the attention of anyone else, not with the Alpha's own scent dominating them.

 

He was jolted back into reality and out of his petting stupor when the Omega's faint canines latched onto the node and _bit down_. Ryan moaned out loud, hand slipping off the Lad's neck as he nearly doubled over. It hurt but in the best way, pure electricity shooting down to his cock and back up to the spot where Ray's mouth was still latched. He tried to shake it off but the pressure sent a blinding surge of hormones through his system. He was sure the Omega could taste it, the hot dart of his tongue from between his teeth lapping it up.

 

Ryan clamped his hand on the back of Ray's neck and dug his fingers in but the younger man only growled and held on tighter, the sound light-hearted but his hands were like iron in his shirt. Ryan tried to tell himself that the kid had no idea what he was doing but every drop of Alpha blood in him was sizzling. This kind of behavior was positively _whorish_ between an Alpha and an Omega who weren't courting. Ray didn't _know_ but _fuck_ – it was perfect and openly needy and everything an Alpha could ever want. It would leave a mark there was no doubt. If they were alone he would've been scared to take advantage of the now-purring Omega. Ray was biting him like a mate and he wanted to treat him like one. Clear his desk, throw him over it, pull down his pants and – _God damn that feels good._ Ray would take his knot so well. He'd moan and beg for it in that breathy, drunk voice he got when was overwhelmed by his smell.

 

 _No! I have to stop this. Don't be a knothead. Don't be a knothead. Don't be a fucking knothead._ But he could feel his body stirring, cock thickening in his jeans so quickly that there was no way the other wouldn't feel it.

 

o0o

 

Ray had never _tasted_ scent before. Everything was fuzzy and cotton-packed, blood-hot flesh under his teeth and tongue as all that heavy woodsmoke smell poured down his throat and into his lungs. Ryan had let him into his lap and held him so lovingly – and he'd given him his throat. That had to mean something. He felt like he was under water but he wasn't drowning. The Alpha's steady hand on his nape was the only anchor he needed. He'd never felt this smothered before. It must've been what Michael went through when he was snuggled up in Geoff's lap after a long day.

 

He heard himself whimper and there was a new slickness between his cheeks, body responding on it's own to whatever intoxicating cocktail the Alpha was pumping out. A rough growl filled his ears and it only made him hotter, underwear getting damp and tight.

 

“I-I need to...I need to go take care of something. I'll be right back.”

 

Ray found himself getting picked up and moved only to get put back down in the chair, fingers still trying to hold on to the Alpha. A thick thumb dug into his jaw and he had to let go of that delicious neck with a whine of protest. “Wait...what are you...where you goin', Rye?”

 

“Just stay here.”

 

Ray's eyes blinked rapidly behind his glasses before he tried to stand up, intending to follow the Alpha wherever he needed to go. The cloud was starting to clear from his mind but then Ryan's hand shot out and pinned him by the neck to the chair. His eyes rolled and everything went blissfully shadowed around the edges. Breath puffed against his ear followed by an order. “Stay.”

 

He made a soft, way-too-feminine sound for a guy and nodded.

 

Placated and drowsy, Ray curled himself up in the Alpha's chair. He rested his face against the soft back and tucked an arm around it. He wished he had a hood to hide his face in but the seat was saturated in Ryan's scent and that was enough. He rubbed his cheek against the plush, fake leather and unconsciously left his own scent marker behind. _This is my Alpha, God damn it. Mine more than any of these fuckers._ His hips were shifting in slow, languid circles but he didn't care. The rough drag of underwear against his cock wasn't so much to get off as it was a comfort. _Alpha could take care of this._

 

That was how Lindsay found him, flushed and snuggling into the chair. She asked where Ryan was and started to tease him but he only caught bits and pieces through the daze. He wanted to follow Ryan so badly but he'd been very firm when he'd left and he didn't want to upset the Alpha. _Stay_. Simple, easy to follow. The phantom anchor of Ryan's fingers on his neck kept him rooted and content.

 

“Why didn't you go with him, silly?”

 

 _He wanted me here,_ Ray tried to say, tongue lazing about against his palette. _I can't move. I can't disobey my Alpha. Stay._

 

“Pfft,” Lindsey snorted. “Omega virgins. What can you do? You need some help?”

 

When Ray didn't answer she got worried. She waved a hand in front of his face, even snapped a few times, but his eyes closed and he just pressed his face into the chair. “This is pathetic. Cute as kittens, but pathetic. If Ryan uses the word 'platonic' one more time I'm going to punch him in the nose. You guys can't honestly call this anything but courting?”

 

Lindsay honestly waited for any kind of retort but she knew she was talking to herself. She wanted to ruffle his hair but he was too adorable in his euphoric state. “You little scent slut. You better be using those toys I got you or you're going to die of blue balls.”

 

o0o

 

Ryan stole the upstairs, single-person bathroom and locked it tight. He went to the sink and ran the water cold to splash his face and try and take some of the heat out. When he dared to look in the mirror he was ruddy and still panting. He cocked his head and spotted a new mark below his jaw. He knew a bruising mark when he saw it. No one he'd scented with before had ever pulled a stunt like this. This was an offer, a plead to be mated and bred.

 

Putting your teeth in an Alphas neck meant two things – a challenge, or a demand to be fucked.

 

He'd helped a few Omega girlfriends through their heats before (and one very brief, very _eager_ boyfriend) but they'd all agreed beforehand to no strong biting. It was intimate and dangerously possessive during vulnerable moments like heats. Sure, those partners had been past the courting stage, but there was an extra large leap from _dating_ to _mates_. And it was mates who bit in public...mates who aggressively scented and left marks behind. Getting a little bruise or scratch during sex was one thing, but to be out in the open and sink your teeth into a node that was damn well a hormone trigger...it was bold, wanton.

 

No matter what he told himself about Ray being inexperienced and ignorant to his actions, his dick didn't care. This was a terrible idea. Jacking off in a semi-public bathroom thinking about his co-worker – it was filthy, beneath him, something only desperate teenagers would do.

 

So Ryan braced a hand over the wall above the toilet and made sure to keep his eyes closed, refusing to acknowledge where he he stood or how fucked up this whole situation was. He undid his belt and jeans and pushed them down low on his thighs, underwear following along with a relieved sigh. The dribble of precum from the tip of his cock gave him enough ease to start stroking himself right away, fingers gliding over the fat swell of the head and down the thick vein underneath it. It fit well in his hand but he imagined a softer, smaller hand there instead.

 

 _Ray_.

 

Vanilla was woven into the very fabric of his shirt, little traces of it wafting up to tempt him. The iron-clad control the guys teased him about failed yet again. All those hidden fantasies that he tried to suppress every day started flicking behind his eyes, giving him the highlights. He bit down on a chapped lip, teeth scraping hard as he kept his sounds down. The last thing he needed was someone knocking and finding him like this. _What they would think of me – fuck._

 

It was uncomplicated at first. Ray spread out naked on his bed, covered in his scent, reaching out for him. But wouldn't he look beautiful on his belly, thighs parted invitingly, red crescent bite marks littering his shoulders? The indention of his canines practically branded on the swell of his ass. He'd never been with anyone that had triggered that secret kink before. But Ryan always fantasized about an Omega who he'd want to spend his life with and bite all to hell. The thought of his marks on their skin, the thought of them trusting him to do it, of his mate _yearning_ for it to show off his claim in public – nothing got him more fired up.

 

And Ray was always so greedy for his scent – would his body be hungry for his cock? Would it open up easily or would he have to work for it, eating out the boy's hole until it was so slick it dripped down his thighs?

 

Ray would practically _flutter_ around his cock, all that usual energy sizzling through his muscles as he tried to be nice and still for his Alpha. He'd knot him, fill him so full and so deeply that his scent would be stained into the Omega's skin. He'd walk around the office reeking of it so potently that even _Joel_ would drool for his knot.

 

The Omega in his bed, thrown across his desk, hands and knees on the couch in the office. _Ryan, please, fuck – fill me up, Alpha, I need it._

 

A small curse broke free of his throat and his mouth dropped open obscenely, panting for breath as quietly as he could as all the molten heat that had been building up spilled into his thighs and through his groin. Ryan moved his hand down and made a sharp, surprised sound when his fingers just barely fit around the bulge of his knot. He hadn't realized he'd popped it with the sweet images of needy Omega dancing behind his eyelids. This almost never happened when he was by himself. But it was blazing hot under his fingertips and the tight pressure felt exquisite. The slight thought of Ray's wet little hole clenching at the base of his knot instead of his hand gave him that last kick over the edge. He didn't open his eyes for fear of shattering the illusion and ruining the pleasure that was tingling through his limbs but he felt pulse after pulse of come leave him. His balls ached and his knot was unyielding under his grip, biology trying to impregnate an imaginary male Omega. This wasn't the normal pump-and-dump, this was _breeding._ And it was all thanks to his sweet, overly enthusiastic friend Ray.

 

It took an embarrassing fifteen minutes to get his knot to go down and a shameful five more to clean up the little mess he'd made and flush the evidence away. Two more minutes were lost trying to wipe the shameful color off his cheeks. He eventually returned to his desk, ready for anything from anger to a napping Omega, but found Ray playing on his computer instead.

 

“I know you didn't eat lunch,” was the first thing the younger man said. “Let's skip out and get food, man.”

 

Ryan agreed and did his best to pretend like he hadn't gotten off their little episode. If Ray was fine with it, so was he. There was nothing to be ashamed of. He was a healthy, virile Alpha still young enough to be considered in his prime. Jerking off to the memory of an obliviously-lusty Omega was just an every day thing.

 

But then Ray shot him that blindingly sunny smile and all he could think about was how many hells he was going to.

 

o0o

 

“Oh wow.”

 

Ryan didn't look up from his temporary desk set up. He kept his eyes and attention on the wires as his boss moved around behind him to get a better view.

 

“Wow what?” Miles asked, the portable camera in his hands ready to film the newest _RT Life_ with the AH crew once they all came back in from a podcast. It was just the three of them and so far Ryan had managed to avoid their looks but it had only been a matter of time.

 

“Did Ray get a little feisty on you?” Geoff snickered, eyes trained on the faintly blueish red mark under his friend's shaven jaw. A beard would've covered it up easily but there was nothing but smooth skin there now. “I hope you bit him back.”

 

He didn't respond.

 

“I told you scenting leads to dicking, man.”

 

Miles' mouth opened and closed a few times like a gaping fish. “You're fucking Ray now?”

 

Ryan's warning growl sent the younger Alpha straight out of the room.

 

“You're both feisty as hell, dude,” Geoff observed. “Must be all that sexual tension. Am I right? Just jerk off and quit being snappy. The other baby Alphas here look up to you. Fear you, yes, but also look up to you. Don't set a bad example.”

 

Ryan bit back a half-ass retort and smashed the plug in so hard he felt the jolt in his wrist.

 

“But don't let anyone but me give you shit about it.”

 

“Trust me. I won't.”

 

o0o0o0o

 

“Come on, dude. Quit playing hard to get.”

 

“Ray, please, we're supposed to be recording.”

 

“We've got ten minutes. Please? You've been avoiding me for days.”

 

“No I haven't.”

 

“Yes you have.”

 

“No, I really haven't.”

 

“Then do it with me. I'm all edgy and Omega and shit.”

 

There was a sigh in the dim closet. “Ray, listen...”

 

“You said you liked it as much I do. You said you didn't mind doing this with me,” the younger sounded way too smug. “Don't you like how I smell?”

 

“Ray...” it was a warning now.

 

“What's wrong, Rye? You look flustered.”

 

Knowing fingers crept over the Alpha's neck, thumb tracing the faint red mark that he'd left. “Wait, Ray, don't put...don't...”

 

“Don't what, Rye? Don't do _this_?”

 

A slick trail was left behind where his fingers explored.

 

“You're a little shit.”

 

“Ha! You're so easy to – R-Ryan, ah...”

 

o0o

 

Geoff threw open the closet door and it like a solid wave of _sweet_ and _earthy_ crashed over him. He reeled back a step from the intensity of it. Then he got pissed.

 

Ryan had their missing Omega up against the wall of the supply closet, dark tongue working a slow path over the line of the boy's neck. Ray was pressed tight against him, head tilted back to properly offer his throat, both his hands slipped up under the Alpha's shirt to lay his palms across bare skin. They looked seconds away from rutting like horny teenagers.

 

“That's it, assholes!” Geoff barked, the two immediately pulling away from each other in shock. He'd never seen Ryan so flushed and rumpled for good reasons before. Ray looked ready to blow his load on the drop of a dime. Both of them had distinctive bulges, as if the blatant musk of arousal filling the closet couldn't have given that away. “You two need to keep that shit at home!”

 

Ray wiped his spit-slick lips, trying to scramble himself back together. “But Geoff-”

 

“ 'But Geoff' _nothing_ ,” the Alpha was on the verge of growling but he reigned it back, “I don't care how cute everyone thinks you are, you've been in here for nearly an hour! We're behind because of you two dickheads.”

They stared blankly at him before checking their watches in almost full sync.

 

“Oh shit.”

 

“It's been an hour?”

 

“Geoff, we had no idea, man.”

 

“Scent drunk idiots,” Geoff grumbled before raising his voice to an order. “Spray the fuck out of this place and then get back to the office. And if this _Let's Play_ isn't the funniest fucking thing I've ever seen, I'm going to put you both over my knee or something, got me?”

 

“What is it with you and Michael threatening to spank everyone?” Ray demanded before he could second-guess himself.

 

“Do you _want_ spanked?”

 

Ray and Ryan both quickly shook their heads.

 

“Then get back to work!”

 

* * *

 

**Shout out to[laraloops](http://laraloops.tumblr.com/) for basically writing this scene, and [mxdcollection](http://mxdcollection.tumblr.com/) for feeding me lots of smutty ideas when I was having some trouble pushing through (and some fantastic ideas for later!) This was my fist time writing Alpha-self-loving. **

**Also - going to have a heavily-detailed fantasy chapter coming up soon. Which would you guys rather have first:  
X-Ray and Vav with villainous Mad Scientist Ryan or Mad King Ryan/Rose Queen Ray?**

 

 


	50. Geoff, Michael, and Gavin V

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one where Geoff and Michael get their shit together, and get Gavin.
> 
> -
> 
> “If we made you feel shitty, we need to know. Despite what any of us feel, you're our friend first.”

**These are posted out of sequence. Don't like that? That's perfectly fine. Check out the[linear link post](http://emono-omae.tumblr.com/post/99261946051/timeline-for-id-like-it-better-if-i-could-win-at-it) here on my blog to see everything in order.**

 

* * *

 

 

The sky was a muddy, early grey when the Ramsay household filled up with the smell of sizzling bacon and sausage. Eggs, fried cheese, and toast soon followed. It was an obscene hour in the morning but no one on the property had slept a wink in almost a week. Gavin had been putting off the talk out of pure fear of what would happen afterward. Michael had been trying to stay at his own apartment, biting his nails, but he quickly realized he got just as little sleep by himself as he did with his Alpha. It was stressful with their offer out on the table and all three of them walking all over each other at work and home, Gavin's answer still in the air. They hadn't wanted to push him or put a time limit so the couple stayed quiet about it.

 

But after Michael and Gavin had both fallen asleep at their computers, Geoff had decided they needed to sit down together on a Monday morning and just get it over with. There were only a few ways the discussion could go and not all of them were unpleasant so it couldn't be too bad. But mostly he couldn't stand to see his boys so exhausted and stressed over something they could fix.

 

So Geoff cooked a large breakfast of loaded omelettes. He bought the really good pulpy orange juice Gavin liked and made sure there was a pot of Michael's favorite coffee. No one could accuse him of not properly caring for his Omegas.

 

Michael shuffled in from upstairs and nearly ran into his boy. They looked away, embarrassed, and were given their drinks before getting sent off to the living room. Gavin took a spot on the couch and after a moment of hesitation the shorter Omega sat down on the floor on the short side of the coffee table, close but not crowding. Still down to just their sleep clothes, the casual air of the room got a little more tense.

 

Michael touched his calf. “You know that no matter what you want to do, we're gonna' be best friends. And you'll live here and Geoff will be your proxy-Alpha. Nothing has to change.” It hurt to say it but he managed it and a smile. “ 'Cause you're my boy, right?”

 

Gavin didn't answer at first, eyes on the carpet and brow pinched. When he finally looked up his best friend looked sick to his stomach, freckles standing out against his skin as he somehow paled even further. He reached down and covered the other Omega's hand, fingers twining on his leg. “Yeah. I'm your boy.”

 

Two steaming, heaping plates were put in front of them. Geoff sat down on the couch beside the Brit and put his own plate in front of him with some coffee. They ate quietly, hearts heavy as they mulled over all the things they could say. This was an important moment and none of them wanted to ruin it.

 

“Gav,” Geoff started off, the ends of his fork twirling idly on a clear part of his plate, “We did this all wrong.”

 

“What do you mean?” the Omega asked tentatively.

 

“We were being fucking pussies about it,” Geoff replied harshly. “All the things we've done with you, all the times we thought we were being obvious but we were just being confusing dicks. Michael wasn't clear about his intentions with you and I just wanted you to be happy so I let it go because you seemed alright with it. But you weren't, were you?”

 

Gavin opened his mouth to reply but he shut it just as quick.

 

“You can be honest with us,” the Alpha promised, wanting to badly to lean over and kiss the furrow from the Brit's brow. “If we made you feel shitty, we need to know. Despite what any of us feel, you're our friend first.”

 

Gavin slowly looked between the two, teeth worrying his lip to a rough chap. “For a bit, I thought you two were messing with me. But I know you're not that mean. You...you love each other. I never expected to be apart of that but you kept touching me a-and you were always drunk when you did it. I was afraid.”

 

“Jesus, dude, afraid of what?” Michael demanded, terrified he'd done something to really fuck up his boy.

 

“That if one of you just wanted me for a romp, I'd say yes,” Gavin admitted, voice laden with sham. “I've wanted you both so badly lately that I couldn't trust myself, and it only made me angrier. I never wanted to get between you. I thought you were doing this on purpose.”

 

Geoff frowned. “We were.”

 

Gavin looked horrified.

 

“Kid, we were doing it all on purpose to get your attention,” Geoff claimed, scooting closer and putting an arm around his shoulders. “We've both been thinking about you for a long time but we were chickens about it. Worse than Ryan was with Ray.”

 

“Way worse, if you can believe it,” Michael added off-handedly.

 

The Alpha's mouth turned up in a small smile. “It's a lot easier to touch someone you think you can't have when you're bevved up.”

 

“I never thought you'd offer,” Gavin admitted under his breath, fiddling nervously with his own fingers as he tried not to swoon under the warm weight of the older man's arm. “Michael kept saying you were my Alpha but I thought he was being a good mate and keeping my head on straight. I got so mixed up I couldn't tell if you two were trying to actually chat me up or were just mucking about for laughs. You're both so happy, I thought the only thing I'd be lucky enough to get would for two...to...”

 

He couldn't say it but Michael flared at the implication.

 

“You thought we'd _use_ you?” the shorter Omega stressed through a toothy snarl. “That we'd fuck around with you and then just move on? That's fucking disgusting. We'd never do that!”

 

“But it _happens_ ,” Gavin defended, “I've seen it.”

 

“Not here it won't.”

 

“What did you honestly expect, Michael? You never said a bloody word!”

 

“I didn't think you'd be this dense! Friends don't do what we do!”

 

“Friends don't string each other along!”

 

“Friends don't get each other off!”

 

Gavin colored violently as he remembered the game night where he'd rutted on the other Omega's thigh until he came. “That was once, and an accident.”

 

Michael's nose scrunched up. “You don't _accidentally_ get off. I told you and everyone else a dozen times that Geoff was your Alpha, and he's mine too, and you're my boy – so what the fuck was I unclear about?”

 

“How about actually saying that you fancied me as more than a stupid scent whore?” Gavin demanded hotly. “You knew what you were doing and I was in the bloody dark the whole time!”

 

“I was trying to be obvious but you're so fucking _thick_!”

 

“You have an Alpha!”

 

“And you have Dan!”

 

Gavin was starting to growl. “Don't you bring him into this again.”

 

“You were the one fucking him in our house!”

 

“You went off your rocker and _bit_ him!”

 

“Well I _apologized_ , didn't I?”

 

“Hey!” Geoff cut in loudly, the red-faced Omegas immediately quieting down. When he spoke again his voice was softter, more relaxed, full of repent. “It sounds like Michael and I destroyed all the trust you had in us. We fucked it up, I'll admit that. None of us handled it well. But we aren't sitting here to scream at each other and point out everything we've done wrong. We're here because we want...we would like...I don't know how to say it without sounding like an asshole.”

 

Michael sat up on his knees, looking up at his best friend with a serious, anger-less expression. “We want you. It'd be the three of us.”

 

“Together,” Geoff affirmed.

 

“Christ,” Gavin breathed, eyes bulging as the offer was put out there for the second time. It was still a shock to hear it. “You...you don't mean occasionally or just in bed, you mean – do you _really_ mean – ”

 

“A relationship.” Geoff smiled, proud to have found the right words.

 

“Bleeding hell,” he cursed, heart fluttering wildly and stomach churning around the food he'd eaten. He was afraid he was going to throw up right then and there so he pressed a hand to his mouth, closing his eyes to try and get his breathing back under control. He didn't want to cock it up before they even started. Geoff's fingers threaded into his hair, the tips massaging across his scalp. He loved when the Alpha pet him like this, or his boy. It was soothing and it easily brought him back down.

 

“You don't have to say yes, and this isn't a one-time offer. This is an apology, and a second chance to do it all over again,” Geoff explained, fingers trailing down so his knuckles could brush along the Omega's stubbly cheek. “I want to court you, like I did with Michael. For real this time.”

 

“Both of us do,” Michael put in, carpet still stinging his bare knees.

 

“You wouldn't want to just – you know – jump right in?” Gavin questioned, completely thrown off by the sincerity coming off his usually nonchalant friends. All the drunk kisses and heavy scentings came back to him in flashes and he knew he must have come off eager. They could've had him right now on the couch if they only asked. _Shows what kind of slag I've become._ But courting was serious. Courting was to show off just how good you could be to an Omega, that you were capable of taking care of them. It was old fashioned and the younger generation of Alphas reluctantly went along with it more to get their nagging parents off their backs than out of any genuine need to prove themselves.

 

It was what Ryan was doing with Ray, what Geoff had done with Michael...even Dan hadn't courted him.

 

“We want to prove how serious we are about this. And we need to build all that trust back up, don't we? You can't just 'jump in' with two dudes who really hurt you. Even dudes as cool as huh. Right?” Geoff turned the Omega's face so he could really look at him. “If you want to call it dating instead, that's fine. But only because you're practically horny teenagers. Back in my day – ”

 

Michael slapped a hand over his face. “Oh God, here we go again.”

 

“ – courting meant proving you were good enough to have sex _with_ ,” Geoff clarified. “You kids just go around dating any old Alpha who comes by, but when I was younger there was a system. You courted an Omega, you two started dating, you fucked around, you found how compatible you actually were, you became mates, and then you take the bite. God, I can't remember the last time I saw a bite on someone. It was a really cool tradition. Ryan understands.”

 

“Well Ryan's a stand-up guy,” Michael drawled. “Ray's going to be getting gray hair before he gets any dick.”

 

Geoff made a rude sound and waved him off.

 

Gavin had started to smile at the story but it faded once the word 'mates'came up. “Aren't you two already mated?”

 

“Yes,” Geoff replied after a nod from his Omega. “Michael is my Omega in every sense of the word. Which is why we'll be courting you _together._ And if it works out, I'll be your Alpha, and his.” The older man leaned in and kissed the little spot beneath his ear, making him sigh. “And Michael will be your Omega, and mine.” Another little kiss further down. “And you'll be ours. And we'll be each others.”

 

“That sounds lovely,” Gavin confessed honestly.

 

Geoff pulled back, hope written all over his face. “So you'll agree? You'll give us another shot?”

 

“Would've been nice to know there was a first shot, but yeah,” Gavin griped good-naturedly. His face split into a shit-eating grin. “ _Fuck_ yes.”

 

“Hell yeah!” Michael called, jumping up on the couch to straddle the other Omega's lap. He grabbed his face and planted a kiss on his lips, ignoring the surprised noise his boy made. Geoff chuckled and just squeezed Gavin's shoulder, letting his Omega have the moment.

 

“Let me set the record straight. I want to kiss you all the time, birdbrain,” Michael gasped against his mouth, bussing against them with each word. “I want to kiss you sober. And drunk. And forever.”

 

Gavin chuckled, the sound on the verge of hysteric. “God, what are we doing?”

 

“Whatever we want.”

 

o0o

 

Once a month, Matt attempted to gather every employee he could find and shove them into their compound's largest conference room for a meeting. It was mandatory for almost everyone upstairs to come but Matt made it clear that for the Achievement Hunters is was _optional_ if only because they were disruptive. The turn out for this particular month was pretty good and it was actually crowded. Chairs were scrounged up from the surrounding rooms including one squishy, over-large one. Michael had dragged Gavin over and they took it, sitting side-by-side and pressed closer from thigh to shoulder. As time went on they got started to tangle up. Michael squeezed an arm around him and the Brit tossed a casual leg over his lap to tuck it between the other Omega's legs.

 

Gavin's chuckled interrupted whatever their Beta boss was saying and their coworkers started to look over. Michael was nipping at the Brit's neck and occasionally whispering in his ear, the hand that wasn't curled around his shoulder was laying on the other Omega's stomach. Gavin was trying to pay attention but his eyes were threatening to flutter shut, the other's clever mouth stealing his focus with sharp little nips and teasing words.

 

Burnie cleared his throat. “Boys – if you could knock it the fuck off for a minute?”

 

“Let 'em be,” Geoff remarked, leaning back far in his chair. “They're freshly courting. Don't you remember what it was like to be young and in love?”

 

Jaws all around the table dropped. Barbara accidentally spit out her beer all over Kerry and Lindsay choked on her own gasp.

 

Joel looked like he'd been physically slapped, mouth hanging open dumbly. “They're...they're courting? _Your_ Omega...is courting... _Gavin_? Another Omega?”

 

Gavin tensed in his boy's grip and Michael wasn't too happy about it. “You got something to say, Heyman?”

 

Ryan rested his head on his hand to hide his smug smile. “I think you're the last person to say anything about their relationship, Joel.”

 

The Alpha pursed his lips and crossed his arms over his chest, definitely _not_ pouting.

 

“Yeah, yeah, they're all beautiful. Kerry, make sure you record their sex tape,” Matt rattled off impatiently. “Can we move on. Please? Can we get something done? Because I would like to get through this without either starving to death or the boys giving us a free show. Alright? Who's with me?”

 

* * *

 

 

**We did it! The big 5-0. Fuck. We're looking at about 70 chapters. Hope you guys don't mind that it'll be this long.  
Thank you guys for all the wonderful comments. I'm serious. I am using them as fuel to get these out to you as fast as possible. **

 

 


	51. Ryan and Ray XIII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryan tries to flirt with Ray but Ray is...frustrating.
> 
> -
> 
> “Now why am I the 'Mad King' all of a sudden?”

**This is _not_ the Mad King chapter I've been teasing about (this is just the origin drabble). **

**The first part of this takes place before Ray presents, and it all takes place before Ryan and Ray agree to court.**

 

 

( _beautiful sketch by[0dalesque](http://archiveofourown.org/users/0dalesque/pseuds/0dalesque)_ )

* * *

 

 

 

Michael's quiet snickering started a little bit after “King Ray”. The Omega would make the sneaky little sound every time Ryan was nice to Ray, be it grabbing him food or hanging out with him at his desk or anything. The two were starting to become good friends and Michael's smirks were only getting on his younger friend's nerves.

 

o0o0o0o

 

Ryan held the door open for him and Ray was about to thank him when he heard Michael blatantly laughing at him.

 

“Dude!”

 

“Oh come on, man, you _have_ to think it's funny!”

 

“Think what's funny?”

 

Michael saw the two unamused looks from his friends and just snorted. “Let me show you a thing.”

 

o0o

 

Ray was stunned, finger slowly rolling over the wheel on his mouse to get a good look at everything. There was a whole slew of people doing it, and they had dozens of different ideas and designs. But they all focused on one thing – _him_. Him and Ryan in _Game of Thrones_ outfits, at least. There were a few King Geoff's out there wearing the Master Chief armor and some early King Mogar drawings in his bear skin, but the styles between his character and Ryan's were similar. Though some people preferred to draw him in his avatar's tuxedo, more than half of the super talented artists had put him in silken flowy clothes. It reminded him of Oberyn Martell's clothing in the show. Kind of open at the chest, ornate, easy to get around in. It was certainly blue blood and flattering.

 

“You look like a girl, dude,” Michael laughed.

 

“I like it,” Ray declared, shutting the Omega up. “All hail the Rose King Ray, bitches.”

 

o0o0o0o

 

It only took two days after Ray presented as an Omega for the fanart to change. A new flood of drawings hit the internet and made their way onto the screen of bored Achievement Hunters. Lindsay started talking about it first, so naturally the whole RWBY crew knew by the end of the day. It slowly crept through the office, more as a cute joke than a real secret, and eventually Kara printed out a few of her favorites and snuck in while the AH crew was doing a _Let's Play_ to pin them up on their fanart board.

 

As the recording came to an end, curious eyes darted over to the new colorful drawings.

 

“Wait, is that Ray?” Gavin bounced up out of his chair and stood in front of the board, examining them with wide eyes. “Ooh, they're pretty. Come have a look at this, lads.”

 

Jack was the second to come up and he broke out into a smile so wide it looked like it hurt. “That's precious.”

 

Michael and Geoff crowded in and the couple exchanged wicked, knowing smirks.

 

Ray muscled through them all and got his first look. They really were beautiful. It was like the King Ray drawings but they'd evolved. The fans had woven a silver, vine-like circlet over his brow instead of a gaudy golden crown. The clothes got tighter on his hips but looser around his legs and arms, feminizing him just enough to make it obvious. The metal work twisting around his waist and wrists reminded him of something a Tyrell would wear. The new image didn't upset him. It reflected him as an Omega and it kind of made him giddy that people could find him attractive enough to be a subject worthy enough to spend so much time on. His eyes flicked between them one at a time, drinking in their multitude of detail.

 

There was one that made him look particularly delicate. His eyes were closed and he was blooming out of rose that took up the bottom half of the page, the petals clinging to his legs and arms like they didn't want to let them go. He looked like he'd shatter at the first strong wind but there was something really pretty about it.

 

Ray tried not to gape like dumbass once he saw the name _Rose Queen_ scrawled across the bottom of most of the pictures. He knew his cheeks were burning but he couldn't stop staring. It seemed the fans really liked to pair him up with...with...

 

“Now why am I the 'Mad King' all of a sudden?” Ryan tisked, suddenly very closer behind the new Omega. Ray chuckled nervously and babbling something stupid but the Alpha didn't move or look away, undeterred by his friend's obvious embarrassment. “I had you guys slaughter animals for their meat and build me a chest piece. That is hardly like burning down King's Landing with Wildfire.”

 

“Whatever, man, you were losing your God damn mind during it,” Michael teased mercilessly. “And if you win again, no special treatment for your _queen_.”

 

The other pictures had the Mad King in it in one way or another. The little persona they'd stolen and shoved onto their coworker for a laugh had become a whole phenomena. And apparently the Mad King had taken an interest in the Rose Queen. It was flattering but it also shot up his anxiety a couple notches just from the assumption. They were all so well done too. It almost felt real.

 

The Rose Queen with a gilded collar, looking dazed, the shadowed outline of a crowned man sketched behind him. Another had that same dark figure looming behind his queen alter ego, thickly gloved hands resting on his shoulders and crushing the gauzy material of his shirt, his cheeks colored pink and his mouth drawn parted as if _needing_ the contact. The king figure had Ryan's distinct shade of hair and the same bearded jaw.

 

And the last one...the last one nearly stole his breath. It was supposed to be the upper part of his ace was darkened, hiding his eyes but highlighting the Cheshire cat grin on his face. His is hands were slick with blood and staining the golden crown he held, spots of crimson all over his elegant clothing. There was a matted bear-skin hat like Mogar wore in other fanarts at his recreation's feet along with crushed roses, a snapped arrow, a chunk of armor, and shreds of a green shirt. He was offering the crown to equally bloody, outstretched hands, the barest hint of kilt being shown off the side. The term “Rose Queen” had been written in the corner, lightly scratched out, and replaced with a hastily scrawled “Mad Queen” instead. The detail pulled the whole thing together.

 

“Wow,” Ray awwed, “They're so good. I can't imagine how much time it took. Look at this detail, man.”

 

“The Mad Queen,” Michael tested out, flopping back down in his set with his hands laced behind his head. “Doesn't have the same ring to it, but it's cool.”

 

“You better not call me that during _Let's Plays_ , asshole, or I swear to God-”

 

“You don't want to be my queen?” Ryan asked playfully. The new Omega started sputtering, nervous brain aborting every word as he tried to say it until a bunch of sounds came out.

 

He shut his mouth, took a breath, and tried again. “I'm not a chick.”

 

“ 'Queen' is a relative term,” Geoff countered.

 

“I'm pretty sure it's a gender-specified term.”

 

“Isn't gender all fluid and open with you kids now?” his boss was just tormenting him now.

 

“I'm not a queen!” Ray barked, getting a round of laughter for his outburst. “You guys are one huge back of dicks.”

 

o0o0o0o

 

It took a few days but eventually the others stopped teasing him about his new fanart status. The pictures stayed up on the board but the guys realized real quick that Ray was uncomfortable with the attention and their remarks were watered down to simple compliments.

 

Surprisingly, it was Ryan who kept going with it. Slowly at first, feeling out how the new Omega would react, but the more frequently.

 

-

 

“My queen,” Ryan commented, opening the office door for Ray to walk through.

 

“My liege,” the Omega shot back sarcastically, suppressing a dopey smile.

 

-

 

“Fuck you, Ray,” Michael cackled as he smacked the tuxedod avatar until it fell off the cliff and the notification of his murder appeared on screen. “No one kills the mighty Mogar! Hey, Ryan – wait – hey!” It was Ryan's turn to laugh into the mic as he took out Banjo with two well placed arrows from his position atop a nearby hill. “The fuck, man? I didn't do anything to you!”

 

“You killed my queen, you little furry bastard. It was a revenge slaughter.”

 

Ray smiled and ducked his head, thankful for his hood to hide the red tinging his cheeks.

 

“Man, _fuck_ your queen,” the other Omega huffed, glaring at the man on the couch. “He died like a little bitch.”

 

“You wanna' get killed twice?” the suddenly dark tone made Michael turn back around in his seat and focus back on his game.

 

“Michael's afraid of Ryan,” Gavin chirped impishly.

 

“All hail the Mad King,” Geoff declared into the mic, getting a lighter laugh out of the younger Alpha.

 

-

 

Ray warmed up to it. Any attention he got from Ryan was golden in his book. Though it was all in good fun, he liked having a level of intimacy with the Alpha outside their scentings. He didn't like to push Ryan but he also wanted to see how far this would go.

 

“Husband,” Ray greeted cheerfully, swatting aside some useless junk on the edge of Ryan's desk and hopping up to sit there. The Alpha sat back in his chair, fingers steepled and eyebrow raised like a challenge. His glasses softened up the look a little but not enough to take out the natural icy-cool that came with those blue eyes and cut jaw. The Omega just simpered like anything, refusing to back down.

 

“Wife,” Ryan responded smoothly.

 

“Are you free for lunch?”

 

“I believe I can move things around. What are you craving?” the older man's lips twitched up in a smile and Ray's heart did a belly-flop. “A leg of turkey? Maybe some mead?”

 

“I was thinking some Coke and burgers,” he hummed in reply. “Maybe we just get in the car and figure it out from there. You're driving, of course.”

 

“Of course.”

 

“Unless Amazon delivered the horse and carriage already?” Ray grinned.

 

“I think it's still in the 'preparing for shipment' phase,” Ryan put on a mock-concerned expression. “Is my car going to be alright until then?”

 

“Well, if it's all you have,” the Omega sighed dramatically before he hopped off. “We better get going if we're going to make it in time for the beheading later.”

 

“I really do hate being late for those.”

 

o0o

 

The day Geoff found them in the closet was one of the most humiliating days at work Ray had ever experienced. Once the fog of Ryan's enticing scent had cleared from his mind he'd become highly aware of how inappropriate he'd been. But the Alpha had been purposely avoiding him and it had kind of pissed him off so he'd played dirty, dragging him into a supply closet and licking his neck like he had. Ryan had pushed up against him like he'd wanted more than to scent, how was he supposed to think past that? He'd shoved his hands under the Alpha's shirt and touched his smooth, warm back.

 

Ray blushed just thinking about it. Once the clock hit eight he started packing his stuff up, ducking out to head to the parking lot. A couple people had seen him and Ryan leaving the closet and they'd all assumed the worst. The Alpha had glared and flashed some canine to get them to back off but that hadn't stopped the suggestive looks from the interns and the little jokes from his friends.

 

He'd asked Lindsay why everyone was acting like it was a big deal and she'd told him, as kindly as possible, that it came off kind of slutty. _You two scent pretty heavy for friends. Don't worry about them, Rayray, they're just jealous. You're a super cute Omega and Ryan's a hot, single Alpha. Anyone who says anything just wants to be one of you._

 

It had been strangely reassuring.

 

The first hour of night had cooled off the city and there was a nice wind going when he got outside. It wasn't too dark yet and he wasn't afraid of a little walk. Usually he'd catch a ride with Michael but the last thing he wanted to do was listen to the Omega's sly remarks all the way home.

 

Ray was passing by Ryan's car when he heard his name in the Alpha's voice. He stopped and turned, ready to say good night, but his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth. Ryan looked amazing. The tan jean jacket he'd chosen was tight on his frame, light, hugging his arms in a way that sent a little flicker of heat straight through the Omega's stomach. His shades were still perched in his hair, completely a whole casual look that Ray himself had never been able to pull off. He felt childish and under-dressed in his khaki shorts and merch shirt.

 

But all that was blown away in the breeze as Ryan took his hand and brought it up to press a kiss to his knuckles. It was bold and sudden and stole his breath more completely than any of the fanart had.

 

“Allow me to take my wife to dinner,” the Alpha entreated.

 

Ray tried to stay cool but it was hard as a swarm of painful thoughts filled his head. All the shit he was wearing was old and he was so _tired_ , the awkwardness of being caught and taking an unfounded walk of shame back to the office had left him with a buzz of anxious energy that had kept him on edge all day. He had planned to go home and just vent his frustration with video games and pizza, but the half of him that wanted that was being torn apart by the half that wanted to spend time with Ryan. They could be seen together, in public, and maybe touch a little and he could enforce the unspoken claim he'd apparently put on the Alpha. People would see that someone has amazing as Ryan wanted to go out with someone like him. On the other side of that, he could look ridiculous next to him. A kid playing grown up. A new Omega who didn't know what they were doing. _I don't deserve this. I'm not his 'wife' or his 'queen', I'm an idiot._

 

Ryan pressed the back of his fingers to Ray's overly warm cheek, eyes scanning him, nose brushing very briefly along his wrist to catch the new stress signals coming off his body. “Correction – let me _make_ my wife dinner.”

 

“You can cook?” it was the first words he could think of and they felt stupid passing between his lips. _Of course he can cook. He fucking left you food when you practically bed-ridden._

 

“I'm no Geoff, but I can make us a little something,” Ryan promised, sidling up and pressing a tender kiss to the younger man's wrist. It was so gentle that Ray couldn't help but sigh and relax a little. “We can go back to my place. My fridge is a little more well-stocked than yours. A _Game of Thrones_ marathon feels fitting, doesn't it?”

 

“Hell yeah,” Ray confirmed.

 

The ride to the Alpha's house was more soothing than anything he could have hoped for. Sitting there with an open window, humming along to the radio, Ryan's scent all around him...the world could suck it. He liked it right here just fun. _If they've got a problem with how I act, they can say it to my face._ He cut a glance over to Ryan. _Besides, if they start talking shit, I'll sick my king on them._

 


	52. Burnie and Joel I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back in the day.
> 
> -
> 
> “I want you to fuck the floor, Heyman.”

**This weekend on "I'd Like It Better If I Could Win At It", we have a new three-part story arc of Burnie and Joel. Where did Joel's subordinate-Alpha attitude come from? Why wasn't Burnie committed for therapy when he showed the first signs of mate abandonment? And panties - what the hell? Tune in.**

**(I am so sorry but there are so many men-wearing-panties things coming up. Don't think for a second I'm stopping at Joel. The Lads will get in on it to, God damn it. If that's not your thing, feel free to skim over. Or stay and get into it, because it's hot.)**

 

* * *

 

 

Back before Rooster Teeth and Cockbite and they had a bunch of Omegas running underfoot, Joel and Matt and Burnie were all smushed into tiny three-bedroom dorm.

 

The Beta was never really into dynamics and believed the whole caveman social structure was a choice more than it was biologically hardwired. He always spouted off about how it was just easier to go along with statuses and stereotypes. People were weak and liked patterns.

 

Joel had never naturally slipped into his status. Ever since he'd popped a knot he'd struggled to wiggle and pry and claw his way into the metaphorical sleeve of Alpha behavior. He forced it for so long that he developed a bite that put people off, all that cocky attitude driving partners away when the rest of his friends from high school were getting married and bonding. He could never snag himself a mate no matter how badly he wanted it or how hard he thought he worked toward it. He watched the other Alphas he knew grow into leaders or complete assholes and he was stuck somewhere in between.

 

A guy who used to sit by him in a general history course his freshman year flipped halfway through the semester and somehow developed a cocksure attitude toward Omegas, talking them down whenever he could and implying that they only had one use almost every other class. It was the disgusting behavior you usually saw with street Alphas whose mothers had given up on them too young, who had never gotten a sharp box to the ears to remind them of what their status meant. It was low class but it was too common to be called an oddity.

 

On the other end of the spectrum, his roommate Burnie (or Michael, if Joel was pissed enough) treated all Omegas like equals and was a real gentleman about it. He'd never seen a man handle Omegas so lovingly before or have such a healthy respect for all statuses. He was one of those Alphas libertarians used as a prime example when talking about the future hope for the status. He was personable, and it made him admirable. He had imperfect eyes, he was soft around the middle and in the face, his beard was more stubble than anything, but he was still handsome in the way that other guys weren't uncomfortable to comment on.

 

Joel tried to convince himself that he was a normal Alpha but words like _inferior_ and _mediocre_ crept into him at night. After a few too many business classes, he felt like he had the word _substandard_ tattooed somewhere on his body. He wasn't a bad Alpha, but he didn't feel up to par for his age. And as months turned into years, he couldn't seem to catch a break. He was itchy in his own skin and it didn't help that he didn't seem to fit in anywhere. Eventually he had to accept his lone wolf status and move on.

 

Either that, or drive himself crazy.

 

o0o0o0o

 

Burnie had the bright idea to do a movie and he roped his roommates into it. Joel loved it, acting was quickly becoming his passion more than anything else, but it was stressful. Matt would throw himself into his studies and his roommates would delve straight into the bottle. Burnie and Joel would scournge up cheap food and as much beer as they could and they would have long nights filled with faux-philosophical talks and shitty video games and as much complaining as they had breath for. Classes, professors, money – it was all on the table. Nothing was off limits between them.

 

In retrospect, maybe there should have been. But if there had then Burnie would have never kissed him.

 

They had another drunk night, no different from any other, except this time they were latched at the mouth. Joel had been in the middle of a long rant about the latest theater director when his friend had gotten this strange smile on his face and scooted closer. Mid-word, Burnie had grabbed his chin and pulled him in for his first kiss from a guy. An Alpha, even. The thought of their statuses never even crossed his mind. It was firm and tasted like beer but it was for _him_ and there was nothing better than that.

 

“You're so pretty, Heyman,” Burnie spoke against his lips. The intimacy of the act jolted Joel out of his daze and he turned his head away, sighing when the other Alpha's hand fell down into his lap. The older man's palm was insanely hot through his sweat pants and his skin seemed to buzz at such little contact. “You shouldn't leave.”

 

That made Joel look back. “What?”

 

“I don't know what's going to happen after _The Schedule_.” Burnie started rubbing along the other's thigh, that smile turning lazier as the muscles jumped under his fingers. “I don't know where we'll all end up but I the thought of not seeing you again really makes me sick. Like, bone sick. Do you know what that's like?” He squeezed the generous flesh, getting the other Alpha to sigh. “To imagine your fuure without your best friend in it?”

 

“I try not to think about it,” Joel admitted lowly.

 

“I do. Every night. It's awful.” Burnie swallowed thickly, trying to keep his composure. “So just stay around alright?”

 

“Burns-”

 

“No! Just _listen_ to me.”

 

Burnie didn't often use that classic Alpha tone or give demands but the timber of it made Joel go weak all the way through. He was grabbed by the back of the neck and Burnie kissed him again. This time it was more like a brand than an appreciative gesture, a tender sear across his lips. He felt like he was selling his soul.

 

“Don't ever leave me, Joel.”

 

The sincerity of the statement – the use of his first name – drove it home.

 

“Okay.” Burnie's hand tightened on his neck and his lips fell open in a silent gasp. “Okay, Burns, I won't.”

 

By the end of the night they found themselves spooned together in Burnie's bed, the older Alpha tucked tight into the other's broad body. His friend had fallen dead asleep but Joel couldn't find any rest, eyes drifting shut once in a while but mind wide awake. The ghost of their last kiss was still lingering on his lips and he couldn't shake it.

 

Burnie murmured something and tightened his arm around his stomach, mouthing sleepily at the back of his friend's neck.

 

Joel swallowed a moan and settled deeper into the embrace, lowering his head to give him full access. He couldn't blame this on the alcohol. He wouldn't. He may have been a year older and an Alpha as well, but Burnie was something so much _more_. He couldn't put it into words and he wasn't sure if he wanted to. He usually tended to agree with Matt about all this dynamic crap being a mental choice but his body felt pliant, submissive even. He wanted to show throat but only to Burnie. No one else had ever even come close to making him feel like this and he hoped no one would ever again. This felt special and secret. Alphas weren't supposed to kiss other Alphas. They weren't bred for it, their bodies weren't built for it, but Burnie had done it anyway.

 

He caught a glimpse of the biology book half buried under one of their shirts. He'd been trying to study about an hour before Burnie had returned with a case of beer. There was a term he'd read...something about the psychology behind scenting...

 

_Pack-Alpha._

 

Joel turned around and dared to press his face into the other's chest, getting a hand low on his back and a faint, happy purr in his hair.

 

The next morning Burnie didn't seem to mind waking up with the other Alpha in his arms. He smiled it off, cheeks plump and happy despite his hangover. They walked to the dorm showers together and if Burnie was more affectionate and Joel stayed closer to him than before, neither said anything.

 

It was the start of everything.

 

o0o

 

They smacked into the bookshelf, textbooks and their collective trinkets rattling and swaying.

 

“Jesus!” Matt yelled, “Would you two knock it off!”

 

Burnie and Joel laughed, all tangled up in each other and rolling across the floor again. The glass bodies of the few beers in their system were knocked over and rolled with them. Their argument had started out as whether or not D&D counted as an acting game or a strategy game, then dissolved into whether Bowser was actually slower in Mario Kart, and it all collapsed into rough housing from there. They were both clumsy and loud about it, playful growls coming from their throats as they tried to get the upper hand. Burnie had weight on him but Joel was like a whipcord, twisting and squirming around to try and break free of his friend's grasp.

 

Matt left them to it to try and find a quiet place to study and the air in the room changed. Burnie's grip got tighter, more determined, and Joel eventually slipped up. He had managed to get behind the younger Alpha and wrap his arms around his waist but the other stood and broke out so fast he was left kind of open-mouthed and staring at air. He sat back on his haunches, ready to admit defeat, but stopped when he felt Burnie move in behind him.

 

A heavy hand clapped on Joel's shoulder and the force of it put him flat on his haunches, thighs twinging as they were suddenly forced wide and his groin nudged against the floor. “Burns?” The Alpha pushed up against him, the unmistakable bulge of his friend's cock rubbing up against the top of his ass and the heat of his body flowing right through him. Joel's eyes went impossibly wide as he felt his own dick responding, growing warm and hard in his jeans. The hand left his shoulder and clamped on the back of his neck, shoving him forward so he had to throw out his hands to brace himself on the floor.

 

“You win already. Don't be so rough, asshole. And get that thing away from me,” Joel griped, trying to smother up his lust with snark. Every time they'd wrestled around like this there was always a charge of energy, a half-chubb in their pants just because grinding up against someone who smelled good was damn near guaranteed to get a person going. They were young men who weren't getting laid a lot with libidos bigger than their heads. It happened to most Alphas who rolled around with each other. It was natural, something to be laughed off or teased about, but this time it felt different.

 

“Got a little carried away there. You smell all new and shiny.” Burnie started sniffing at the back of his neck, a pleased growl rumbling in his throat. “And turned on.”

 

“I'm not,” he lied, a steady throb going down to his balls as the end of the Alpha's nose brushed across his nape. “Fuck off and let me up.”

 

“I don't know,” Burnie hummed, fingers sliding up and curling into his fingers into the dark mass of the other man's hair. “You seem to like this.”

 

“What the hell are you – _oh_.”

 

Teeth dug into the left curve of his neck, right at the back. His entire body went all wobbly, every bone liquefying. He dropped his head at the slight pressure of the man's hand, elbows shaking to hold up his weight. He felt his eyes water as the sensation overwhelmed him. There was a rush of blood to his cock and he rocked his hips just once to feel the friction.

 

“God damn, Joel,” Burnie muttered, voice thick rolling off his tongue. “You didn't tell me you looked this good on your knees.”

 

“You're an ass,” Joel grit out, getting pushed down even further until his bangs fell into his eyes and he could clearly see the telling lump in his own jeans. “What are you going to do?”

 

Burnie's lips lightly skimmed along his neck and up to the shell of his ear, the curve of the Alpha's soft belly brushing his back. “I want you to fuck the floor, Heyman.”

 

Joel's entire face burned. “Jesus, Burnie!”

 

His hair was tugged on and he shut up. He could feel the younger man's teeth ready to bite down on him again. “You want to. I can smell it coming off your skin.”

 

“I-I don't...” Joel couldn't finish. It wouldn't be true. He started thinking about it and it only fattened his cock up. He was prone, legs open, neck offered up. And this was _Burnie_ for God's sake. He wasn't going to hurt him. They'd do anything for each other. And it turned him on something fierce to think of the Alpha behind him watching him trying to get himself off, maybe touching him too.

 

_This is what college is for, right? Experimenting? If not now, then when?_

 

Burnie's fingers still twisted in his hair and Joel started to roll his hips against the floor. He gasped loudly at the first deliciously rough drag of his cock against the carpet, the scratch of the inside of his jeans getting felt through the thin protection of his underwear. To the tune of Burnie's surprised little moan, he started to thrust in the rhythm he could remember using with his last partner. This was on an Alpha's orders and it just drove him higher, made him dizzier. The demanding bite from earlier still stung on his neck. He must've looked like a whore fisting his hands in the carpet and letting the younger man pull his hair to his heart's content but he didn't care with how good it felt.

 

“You fuck all those pretty Beta girls like this?” Burnie murmured into his shoulder, mouth feeling like a smile against him. He nodded quickly. “No wonder they like you so much.” He very _knot_ throbbed at the praise. The sensation felt a hundred times stronger than the little butterflies he got whenever Burnie praised him in the every day. “I've seen a couple guys in our classes looking at you. You let them have a turn too?”

Joel tried to growl but a sharp tug to his roots made the sound trail off to a whimper. “God, no. For fuck's sake, Burns, I'm...” _I'm an Alpha. I don't get fucked._

 

“Too bad.” Burnie grabbed a handful the other's ass and _squeezed_. “They're missing out. Your ass looks fucking fantastic from where I'm sitting. Jesus, Joel, you could be a camwhore. Look at you.”

 

Joel stopped and lifted a hand to his mouth to smother his moan, the words hitting him right in the gut.

 

“I didn't say stop.” The sentence was punctuated by another bite in the same spot, pure desire flooding through him. The ache in his thighs faded away under the rush of endorphins. This was beyond a friendly grop fest. This was a demand for submission. Joel started moving the moment the other Alpha's teeth left his skin. He felt compelled, blissed out, and more than willing to keep up the show. He wasn't particularly proud of his exhibitionist tendencies but they'd taken him to the stage, and now they helped fuel himself in possibly the dirtiest thing he'd ever done.

 

Grinding his covered dick against a carpet trying to come for his Alpha best friend.

 

Joel wasn't sure how long he was doing it but he felt like it was stretching on into a small infinity, the sound of Burnie's hushed comments and appreciative grunts just pushing him further and further into his own head. He had a brief thought that Omegas must feel but he shoved it away for the sake of what was left of his pride.

 

Sweat beaded along his thighs under his pants, slicking behind his knees and at the base of his back. Muscles burned but there was no pain. His underwear was damp and his cock was wet, precum dripping and smearing and making what he was sure was a huge mess. He started to pant loudly as pure _need_ built up inside him, the faintest of whimpers sounding deep in his throat. They were barely audible but they rung in his own ears. His could feel his knot threatening to swell up and he was abashed. He knew from experience that he only popped when he was ridiculously turned on.

 

He'd be jacking off to this memory for weeks.

 

“Fuck.” Burnie raked his nails through the other Alpha's hair, along his neck, and down the clothed line of his spine. “Is that what you sound like before you come? That's nice.”

 

“Don't ma- _ungh_ ,” Joel dropped his head, the pitiful little sounds coming more often. He could barely form words. “Make fun of me.”

 

“I'm not,” Burnie hushed, fingering the bright bite mark on the older man's neck. “Can you come like this?”

 

Joel bit down on his lip and shook his head, hips still moving. It felt amazing but he needed something more. Anything, really. He whined when a hand snuck around his hips and covered his clothed cock in the cradle of a broad palm. The edge of climax intensified, the severity of it creeping up into his lungs and forcing even more humiliating sounds out of him. The English language left his grasp and he just started mindlessly rutting between the flexing grasp of Burnie's hand and the solid weight of the Alpha's hips behind him.

 

 _Don't you think about him fucking you. Don't you dare._ Joel bit the inside of his cheek. _But what if he did? Oh God, would it hurt? Fuck it, I don't care. I bet it'd feel good if he just opened his pants and – how big his cock? How big is his knot? Shit. I'm gonna blow._

 

When he came it made his head swim and his eyes fell closed. He whispered Burnie's name as he creamed in his own boxers, elbows shaking hard before they collapsed and he dropped down to his forearms. He hunched over himself, shivers running up and down his back as he suffered through the fiercest orgasm he'd ever experienced. It lasted in a couple waves, a new experience for him. His hips twitched forward a few times to ride it out.

 

As he came back to himself, Joel felt a hand rubbing along his back. He slowly sat up with a wince as the slickness in his underwear made itself known. Burnie draped an arm over his shoulder and placed a kiss on the mark he'd left behind. “You alright there, Joel?”

 

He nodded meekly. “Uh. Yeah.”

 

“You did good. And you looked hot,” Burnie promised, briefly scrubbing his cheek through the man's dark hair before he stood up. “Come on, good buddy. Change your pants and let's go get midnight waffles.”

 

Like the whole kissing incident, things didn't get weird. Burnie kept treating him like his best pal but there were more suggestive comments, almost always with a wink or a little knowing nudge. Nothing came of it but Joel didn't mind. They actually became better friends and it wasn't uncommon for Burnie to come into his room in the middle of the night to curl up with him. It was a comfort thing.

 

They were Alphas. That's all it could be.

 

o0o0o0o

 

The panties thing was...an accident. A happy accident.

 

It happened in the middle of his junior year at the university. He was trying to get a role at the local theater to complete some workshop credits but it wasn't working out. Every part he'd gone for in the past few weeks had flopped spectacularly and he was running on zero confidence. He'd tried everything he could think of – immersion, technique research, _begging –_ but nothing had worked. After listening to him complain about it for a couple of his English classes one of his female Omega, Lee Anne, friends suggested wearing lingerie.

 

“What the hell?” he'd yelled, getting a glare from the elderly professor.

 

Lee Anne had just chuckled and scooted closer, lowering her husky voice to a whisper, “It's what I do for good luck. It works every time. And if nothing else, I feel sexy.” She had lifted up her skirt enough to show off the powder pink line of a garter belt. He gaped and reached forward to touch but he got his hand smacked.

 

Joel couldn't stop thinking about Lee Anne's advice. Every time he would pass a mirror or get undressed he'd wonder what a bit of lace or silk would look like. He'd always been kind of slim and a quick search on the internet showed that lots of guys with his body size looked pretty good in lingerie. He started walking past those super girly stores more often, eyes straying for more than just appreciation or fantasizing. The margins in his class notes were filling up with little doodles that turned into different styles of panties his past girlfriends had worn. While Matt and Burnie were fighting over what brand of beer to buy, Joel was waging a debate of garters vs no garters. He was superstitious and particular as a person, and maybe if it worked for someone else it would work for him.

 

He broke down and just went for it. He made sure to measure himself correctly and then forced himself to go to the nearest lady-store. It had some frou-frou name he couldn't pronounce and the saleswoman was kind of pushy so he ended up with a full set, even a bra. He decided to keep going with that “can do” attitude and picked out one of each style of underwear to figure out which type was more comfortable for him.

 

“It's for my girlfriend.”

 

“Of course, sweetie.”

Joel ended up in front of the full length mirror hanging on their closet door. He'd shaved his legs (which turned out to be a major pain in the ass and he swore to never do it again) and followed through with the whole idea. He had on sheer stockings with a blue tint to them that ended up about an inch above his knee. It took him a long-ass time to get them on but the garters had been fairly easy once he figured out how to do it correctly and make it look nice. He was going to do this the right way, God damn it. No one could say he half-assed anything. There were plain blue panties stretched over his ass, and on top of them this cool lace belt thing that hooked onto the garters and hugged his hips tightly to keep them up. It gave the plain, frilly-lined panties a fancier look. He turned around, admiring the lines it carved across his figure. He never considered himself feminine but all this made him... _softer_. He hooked a finger under the hem and tugged it down a little where it had ridden up his cheek.

 

It worked like a dream. Joel nailed his next audition and, as a precaution, wore some panties during his performance and was on-fucking-point. He kept it up and aced his midterms. He liked the feel of them. Cotton was relaxing, silk gave him confidence, and lace made him claw-the-walls horny.

 

And it made his junk look super nice and big. He had no problems with his size (though he wished he was a bit thicker at times) but seeing it all neatly bundled under some fabric with a pretty bow or a swatch of lace really boosted his ego.

 

And he never told anyone. Except, sort of, _one_ time.

 

o0o

 

“What do you think of lingerie?” Joel asked, textbook spread out in front of him on the bed. Burnie was laying on his floor and shooting a dart at the ceiling, dodging it with very little grace every time it came down. The younger Alpha blinked owlishly behind his glasses as he thought it over before his face split into a smirk.

 

“Like...?” Burnie prompted.

 

“Garters, lacy underwear, all that,” Joel shrugged, trying to be casual.

 

“That shit's hot,” the other Alpha replied.

 

He couldn't help but glance at the wardrobe. “Really?”

 

“Oh yeah. But you know I'm an ass man.” Burnie moved his head to keep from getting hit in the cheek with the dart. “Mmm. Silky butts.”

 

The next time Matt and Burnie were both out of the dorm, Joel got out the second complete mint colored set he got and put them on. He examined himself in the mirror with new eyes. This could be a sex thing. This could be a fetish. He tried to think of potential partners seeing this but it didn't go well. He trudged over to his bed and sat down with a huff, arms crossed over his bare chest. Omegas would laugh, he could practically hear them now. Betas were iffy, they could go either way. And the thought of another Alpha seeing him like this was somewhere between terrifying and embarrassing.

 

 _Burnie?_ “Oh. Burns.”

 

Joel leaned back on his palms and watched his dick twitch and start to thicken up. It was cool to see the fabric start to strain and struggle to keep him all inside. He ran his fingers over the delicate material and ooo-ed at how he could feel the heat through it. Burnie said he liked lingerie. What if he were here? What if he showed him? Would Burnie like it on _him_?

 

Joel closed his eyes and conjured up the thought of the other Alpha just leaning against the wall, waiting and impatient. He slowly turned around and got on his hands and knees on the mattress. Lost in the fantasy, he reached behind him and ran a single finger under the garter on his right thigh. Burnie would want to look, test it, see how well it snapped back to his skin. He brought his hand back and palmed himself through his panties, high flags of colors blooming on his cheeks as his cock started to peak out from the top.

 

_Oh God. This is a sex thing too._

 

A few minutes later when he laid there with a pillow between his teeth and his cum pooling on the sheet beneath him, he still tried to convince himself that he wasn't into the Alpha.

 

o0o

 

After college ended and he started to move around, the panties and the few garter sets he'd bought got shoved into the back of his drawers and into the bottom of boxes just out of carelessness. The superstition faded as he started more mediocre jobs between acting gigs. The habit died a little at a time but never altogether.

 

At graduation, Joel shoved down his half-baked notions of asking Burnie out or their playing around coming to anything and took on the role of right hand man as completely as he could. He never lost touch but the trio had to split off in their own directions. It sucked, but it was necessary.

 

o0o0o0o

 

Joel loved Jordan the moment he saw her. She'd come in on Burnie's arm and shook his hand and said all the nice things one did when meeting the best friend but it wasn't enough. He uncharacteristically hugged her the moment she stopped talking and just gushed over them. They were a gorgeous couple, they really were, and they smelled like those high class gift baskets that always looked too fancy to touch. Burnie glowed next to her and he obviously loved her with everything he was. It was rare and beautiful and he silently prayed they never lost each other because it would be a lost cause to the world.

 

He was a purposely unattached, single guy and even he felt in love standing next to them.

 

When Burnie asked him to join this Machinima project he was starting, Joel readily agreed.

  
They were back in each other's lives and he wasn't going to leave this time. He was going to keep his promise from now on.

 


	53. Burnie and Joel II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.
> 
> -
> 
> “Sir? Sir, please answer me.”  
> “I'm here. My friend is...I can't...”

When Jordan demanded a divorce and started wearing the bite-hiding collar, Joel's heart broke right along with his friend. Stunned disbelief turned into blinding rage. She had no idea what a gift she'd been given with Burnie and she threw it away over some petty mid-life crisis. Matt tried to sympathize but Betas couldn't bond like Alphas and Omegas could and it was difficult for him to understand the mental tear of it. Gus had the same problem.

 

So it was up to Geoff and Joel to try and keep their friend on his feet.

 

Burnie was his best friend above everything else, including his weird feelings for him. Joel wanted him to be happy and Jordan had done that, but now...all the drinking, the crying, the sulking. It hurt to watch and he made sure to do everything he could to keep the other Alpha's head above water (metaphorically, of course). He was beyond grateful for the job Burnie had given him and the position in life he'd put him at, so taking care of him wasn't above and beyond. He made sure his friend ate and drank water and got out of bed at least once a day.

 

It turned into a part time job but he didn't care. The company didn't matter without Burnie in it.

 

o0o

 

Joel sat behind the other Alpha on the couch, shushing him softly and rubbing his shoulders and down his back. Burnie was choking on tiny, weak sobs with the divorce papers still crumpled in his hands – unsigned. The letter Jordan had sent with it had been particularly sharp and unnecessarily cold. Burnie had been doing well all morning and had even managed to go to the grocery store to stock up, but the moment he'd checked the mail he'd crumpled.

 

“I-I'm sorry,” Burnie stuttered, hand over his eyes to hide the tears. “I ca-can't stop. My chest feels like it...it's full of glass.”

 

“Come here, buddy,” Joel pulled him up until his chest was pressed to the man's back. Burnie pawed at his arm, tugging it across his broad chest in a frantic hug. Joel nuzzled the back of his neck and clutched just as tight. “Do whatever you need to do. I'm not going anywhere.”

 

_It'll be better soon. It certainly can't get any worse._

 

o0o0o0o

 

_Bzzzz. Bzzz._

 

Joel's eyes popped open and flicked around wildly before he realized it was his phone going off. The clock glowed _1:32AM._ He'd finally managed to shake off his recent bout of insomnia and had laid down an hour ago. Exhaustion had seeped into his muscles like molasses and rolling over felt like a thousand year war just to roll over and bat at his night stand. It took a few tries but eventually he managed to curl his fingers around it.

 

His first attempt came out as a barely-there rasp so he cleared his throat and tried again. “Hello?” He was getting impatient and was ready to growl when he realized it was a text.

 

“Fucking idiot,” Joel muttered, squinting at the screen and mashing his thumb against it to try and open the message. He fumbled and cringed at the bright light. It was one line, the time stamp above it dated a few minutes ago, Burnie's little poodle-hair icon sitting next to it.

 

_Help._

 

o0o

 

On the drive over, Joel triple-checked to make sure he had his friend's spare house key on his key ring. He was trying his best not to start hyperventilating but his mind was not his ally at the moment and it kept spinning horrible situations that he could be walking in on. Burnie had been fucking _livid_ the past two days, driving them out one by one until none of them could stand to be around him. Joel had tried to come see him but the other Alpha had locked himself up in his house. No communication at all.

 

The first contact between them in more than seventy two hours between them was _Help_ and he couldn't shake what that could mean. He'd never hated the word so much. It had never made him feel so sick.

 

o0o

 

Joel's hands were shaking so hard the key kept scraping off the hole and cutting into the metal around it. He spat a few choice curses and _finally_ managed to wrench the door open. The house was lit up and normal looking. No splatters of blood, no body parts, no crazed serial killer running around while Burnie texted silently in a dark closet with little slats of light across him. There was a smell of burnt metal in the air and something meaty. He wrinkled up his nose at the sharpness of it.

 

“Burns?” Joel barked up the stairs. It was pitch black up there. He knew Burnie hadn't slept up there since Jordan left. Despite the scent neutralizer they had sprayed all over her smell had stayed in every fleck of paint and swab of cotton – too deeply ingrained to ever really leave. Gus was currently looking for a place for their friend to move into and until then the Alpha had just been camping out on the couch. He wouldn't be up there. There was a half empty bottle of cheap, gut-rotting whiskey on the table and a glass beside it with a few drops left in it.

 

Then he saw the knife. It was laying on the white tile by itself, little flecks of _something_ on it. Joel swallowed, exhaling loudly as a cold sense of fear started creeping into his chest. He slowly walked forward and barely felt the floor, heart beating loudly in his ears and his focus narrowing down to the way the light caught the heavy blade. It was just a thin cleaver for meat. There was no psycho wielding it, it wasn't floating, there was nothing menacing about it. Then a socked foot came into view and he ran.

 

He was horrified but he found and his fight-or-flight response kicked in to high gear, the chill of the unknown getting wiped out by a hot flood of adrenaline. Burnie was spread out on the floor, hands trembling by his sides and knuckles busted up. His cheek was swollen like he'd been hit, the flesh bright red as the rest of him had gone white as a sheet. Dark eyes had blown out pupils and they stared at nothing. He looked half out of his mind in shock.

 

Joel dropped down to his knees beside him, fingers twitching in the air above him as he tried to decide what to do. His phone was fished out of his pocket. He dialed 9-1-1 and put the device to his ear. He slowly curled his left hand underneath the Alpha's head, cradling it, turning his face so they could look at each other. It didn't matter if he had no idea what was wrong, this wasn't natural and he needed medical attention.

 

He choked on Burnie's name when he saw the long strip of seared flesh on the side of his friend's neck where his bond-bite used to be. It was stark white and starting to swell, ballooning away. Somewhere in the back of his mind he could hear Gus saying _deep tissue burn_ with a calm, rational tone that seemed beyond his own reach at the moment. He started sucking in breath in short bursts, thoughts spiraling higher and higher in a hysterical loop that made his eyes water.

 

“ _Michael_ ,” Joel keened, long and high and pathetic. He felt tears stinging his eyes and he leaned down and brushed their cheeks. He started to cry harder as he picked up the other Alpha's injured, drunk scent. His friend was in distress, out of his mind, and he couldn't help. He'd ignored him and now he was hurt. This was his own fault. He'd let him down.

 

“Sir? Sir, please answer me.”

 

Joel sniffled and raised his head, blinking rapidly as he realized someone was talking to him. A woman. An emergency line operator in his ear. _I called 911._ “I'm here. My friend is...I can't...”

 

The woman ( _Jolene, what a pretty name_ ) calmly talked him down until he realized the situation in its entirety. He told her everything about Burnie's condition and rattled off the address. She informed him that an ambulance was on the way and that he was in no way to try and treat the burn. Jolene wanted to stay on the line with him until they arrived but Burnie was starting to blink and make noise so he hung up.

 

“J-Joel?”

 

Joel whimpered faintly, tucking the crook of his arm under the man's head to help him sit up a little. Burnie was starting to focus on him. Fingers came up to tangle in his sleeve in a determined clutch. Joel heard himself making a whole slew of humiliating Omegan noises but he still blanketed the man's hand and held on just as tightly.

 

 _Alpha_ , his mind chanted, lips tickling with the urge to say it out loud.

 

Burnie frowned, slipping his hand out from under his grip and clumsily wiping away a few tears that had lingered on the older Alpha's cheek. Joel took a few calm breaths and gathered up what was left of his wits. “There's an ambulance coming. You're...you're hurt pretty bad, man. They're gonna' take you to the hospital.”

 

Panic crossed the other Alpha face. His hand dropped and snagged on Joel's own again, fingers lacing.

 

“Don't,” Burnie's voice was trembling, barely a whisper. “Please don't leave me too.”

 

“God, _never_ ,” Joel swore, bringing their hands up to press a kiss to the man's palm. “I promised, remember?”

 

“You promised,” Burnie grunted, eyes scrunching shut.

 

“Burnie? Oh fuck.”

o0o

 

Joel had a love/hate relationship with hospitals. On one hand, they were pristine. Clean in most places, a soothing blank white, the smell of anesthetpics and bleach in every hall. One the other – rotting corpses, coughing people, and every refined sharp object known to man lived under one roof. And this doctor – Dr. Stan Walker; 'Alpha', from his laminated name tag – was making the whole situation worse. He was grateful that the man had taken care of Burnie, and he was even more grateful for the soft tone he was using. But it was still difficult to have another Alpha explain why their situation was fucked up.

 

“Mr. Heyman, he needs to be committed for hormone treatments. This blood work is...” the doctor sighed, his expression sour. “Sir, if I can be honest with you, it's scary. He's dehydrated, just to start. Blood pressure, heart rate, glucose levels...they're not where they're supposed to be at all.”

 

“He's going through a very messy divorce,” Joel defended, getting a patronizing look. “Well, he is.”

 

“I'm afraid it's deeper than that, Mr. Heyman,” the doctor pressed. “His thyroid gland and liver are noticeably – and dangerously – swollen. His cortisol levels are extremely high for someone his age and physical condition.” He started flipping through the chart. “Serotonin levels are all over the place. There seems to be an excessive excretion of somatostatin. It's probably what attributed to his weight loss. Also, as a medical professional and an Alpha, these dopamine levels are worrisome at the very least.”

 

“Dopamine, cortisol,” Joel muttered in frustration, scrubbing a hand over his face. “Doc, listen, Bio one-o-one was a long time ago. What does all that mean?”

 

“From what you filled out on the paperwork earlier, I think you know,” the doctor tisked. “If patterns continue like this, he's going to have a difficult time feeling...well, _content._ Dopamine controls so much of what makes us happy. Mr. Burns can't go on like this. He has to be suffering. I would really like to get him under an MRI to see how deeply this all goes.”

 

Joel chewed the side of his lip. “He can bounce back.”

 

The doctor lowered the chart, tucking it under his arm. “He has a four inch long self-inflicted third degree burn on his throat.”

 

“He was getting better before this.”

 

Dr. Walker saw straight through his frail protest. “Mr. Heyman, your friend should be committed for hormone treatment.”

 

Joel shuffled awkwardly, pulling his jacket closer around him. He was still in the old sweatpants and threadbare shirt he'd snatched off the floor before he'd bolted and he was feeling the chill. He cleared his throat, looking everywhere but at the young Alpha in front of him. “What would be involved in that?”

 

“Mr. Burns would need to have a contact list, and Alphas on that list would have to submit the proper forms with proof that the Alpha in question is a danger to himself and others. There would need to be a corroborative statement and a collaboration of incidents. They would have to a certified therapist, and that therapist would have to talk to him. It’s an extensive process but necessary with Alphas in his position.

 

“How many people on that list would have to agree that he’s...a danger?”

 

“At least four Alphas, but the more there are the quicker it goes through. Omegas are key witnesses, of course,” the doctor informed him. “We could start the process now.”

 

“But how bad is it?” Joel pestered. “On a scale of one to ten?”

 

Dr. Walker bristled, obviously not used to being second-guessed on a matter like this. “Sir, this is serious. A one to ten scale isn’t the level of severity you should be looking at.”

 

The older Alpha hesitated, mulling the idea around. It sounded serious but Burnie had been distraught, of course his body was fucked up. He hadn’t hurt anyone. He’d taken a swing at Geoff but he hadn’t _hurt_ him. “He’s my best friend. I’m not going to shove him in some hospital because he’s not getting enough potassium or some shit.”

 

“I don’t think you understand.”

 

“I understand that hormone therapy is painful,” he spat out. “You take someone away from their family and friends and hook them up to a bunch of machines and pump them full of chemicals until they throw up.”

 

“It’s always for their own good. Hormone imbalances are deadly for Alphas and the Omegas they’re around.”

 

“Burnie wouldn’t hurt an Omega for anything!” Joel finally snapped, flustered at the jabs at his best friend’s character. “Treatment like that is for extreme cases. I’ve read about doctors pushing it on any stressed out Alpha that comes along. It’s, what, roughly eighty percent effective? Maybe? On a good day? You can destroy a man’s life if it goes wrong.”

 

The doctor’s eyes widened fractionally. “I can assure you that we personally treat every Alpha and Omega we take in with the utmost care and respect. Our hope, as always, is to restore them to their former selves. Everything we do, we do for them. “

 

“I appreciate the option there, doc, but he’ll be fine all on his own,” Joel left no yield in his tone. “Can I see him now?”

 

Dr. Walker looked like he wanted to say something else but he only smiled politely and nodded.

 

o0o

 

Burnie’s heartbeat was a steady beep in the otherwise quiet room. The little spotlight above the bed was dimmed to give Joel’s eyes a rest and would make it easier for his friend to come around. Insurance had paid for a single room at his insistence and he’d managed to snag an extra pillow prop the man’s head. Burnie had a thick bandage on his neck and an IV in his arm, golden lashes twitching once and a while against his cheek as the pain meds and NSAIDs flowed in with the electrolyte-infused fluid that would hydrate him back up. The worst of the cuts on his knuckles had been bandaged up.

 

When he’d checked the chart at the base of the bed there had been a scribbled line that read _bruised ribs – alleged bar fight._ They must have got that story out of him before he'd passed out.

 

Joel stared at the dozen-count stack of contact forms in his lap anchored to a clipboard. The nurse had given them to him with a sympathetic smile. She hadn’t pushed, hadn’t said anything about the doctor, but her silence and the kindness in her eyes had been convincing. He hadn’t agreed to anything but this was a start, a precaution. The only thing the nurse had told him was that they would keep all forms signed by the patient here at the hospital, on record, just in case. He was terrified of the implication but in the grand scheme of things it would be harmless. Burnie wasn’t sick, he wasn’t suffering from abandonment any more than anyone else would. He was nothing like those crazy fucks whose Omega’s would leave them and they’d go on a rampage. His friend was a good man at heart. He could fight this.

 

Burnie made a little noise before his eyes opened. He was disoriented at first, eyes trailing lazily from one corner of the room to the other, but he seemed to get his bearings. He caught sight of Joel and gave a smile that reminded him of Geoff's own, the drip fixing whatever pain he felt. Burnie mouthed the words ‘ _you came_ ’ and managed to drag his hand over to lay on the paler Alpha’s arm.

 

Joel nearly collapsed in relief, bending down to kiss the man’s hand out of instinct more than anything else. It felt right to taste the warm skin under his mouth, the faint throb of Alpha blood helping to soothe the frazzle mass of his nerves. They stayed silent for a few minutes, the younger slipping in and out of a doze while the other struggled with a decision.

 

Joel sat up, eyes burning with unshed tears. He hadn’t cried this much in years. “Does it hurt?”

 

Burnie shook his head as his lips formed around ‘ _nah_ ’.

 

“There’s something we have to do,” Joel decided on half-truths instead of lying outright. “You don’t have any emergency contacts for you a-and insurance won’t cover this trip unless you do it.” He raised the clipboard when Burnie’s brows furrowed. “You don’t have to say anything. I’ll just name off a few of our friends and you just nod if you’re okay with them. Then you can sign them. No problem.”

 

Burnie’s smile was softer now, trusting, and he nodded with a grateful look. There were a lot of unspoken words in that stare and it made Joel’s throat threaten to close up. He slowly listed all their mutual Alpha friends, making sure to pepper in Matt and Gus just so he didn’t get suspicious. But Burnie was gentled by the meds and he didn't seem to mind.

 

At the end, Joel inclined the bed and sat close to the Alpha as he urged him to sign the bottom of each page and date it properly. He stroked through Burnie’s curls, mouthing silent apologies for what he was doing into his hair. It was for his own good, for the good of them all.

 

Surely it wouldn’t come to anything.

 

o0o0o0o

 

A month after burning off his bond bite, something changed in Burnie. Joel could smell it in the air when he came into his friend’s house. Like ozone, only deadlier, more human. Burnie seemed to pop out of the woodwork, running at him full speed and snagging two fistfuls of his sweatshirt. He yelped as he was shoved up against the wall, belly exposed with all that fabric bunching up around his collarbone. The kiss was the real surprise. Burnie’s mouth was demanding, slanting over his own and pressing so hard he knocked his head off the wall.

 

“Forgot how good you smell, Heyman,” Burnie teased with a sharp grin, keeping one hand in his shirt while the other snagged dark hair to jerk his head back. Joel was stunned silent, the kiss had stolen every protest right out of his throat and crushed it. A hot tongue dragged over his neck where his blood ran quickest. “When was the last time we scented?”

 

Joel wet his lips as they tried to form a multitude of words, a tiny infinity going by as he tried to get his brain on track. “Before you got married.”

 

“We should change that,” Burnie smirked, smacking him too hard on the cheek to be playful. “Gotta’ go. Lots of work to get done. No more lying around, Joel!”

 

o0o0o0o

 

This new version of Burnie rubbed him the wrong way. He’d turned into some kind of torrid Dr. Jekyll character. He’d be the sweet guy they all knew one minute and then the next he’d be chatting Monty up in the parking lot and grabbing his ass. That kind of behavior made Joel’s canines itch. With every wayward grope or cheap innuendo, the older Alpha’s crotchety grandpa behavior grew into true bitterness. Nasty comments started to circulate around the office about Burnie and they stung to listen to. After a few weeks he couldn’t take it anymore and he snapped.

 

“What is wrong with you?” Joel barked, shoving the other Alpha in the chest. “Why are you acting like this!? Jesus, Burns, you have to leave Michael alone! Geoff loves that brat, and don't think I haven't seen you looking at Gavin. Every fucking Omega in this place has-”

 

“Shut up, Joel!” Burnie snarled, shoving his forearm into the Alpha's neck and pushing him straight into the wall beside the door.

 

Joel flashed his teeth. “You sure love slamming me into shit. You gonna' go through with it this time, asshole? You want to hit me? Do it!”

His windpipe nearly closed off at the sudden, harsh pressure. Burnie started growling and the older Alpha flinched, grabbing the man's arm but making no move to get away. There must have been something on his face that made Burnie's rumbling threat cut off because the sound stopped almost as soon as it started.

 

“Don't look at me like that,” Burnie begged in a low voice, the sound a stark contrast to his earlier violent outburst. He dropped his arm and his friend could breathe again.

 

“Like what?”

 

“Like I'm some kind of monster,” Burnie's lips pursed into a thin, white line. “There's nothing wrong with me. If I want to have some fun then I don't need you on my ass about it. So you and everyone else can just _fuck off_ already.”

 

Joel was shoved out of the office so quickly that he couldn't formulate a response and he had to walk away. As always, his thoughts went back to the stack of papers the hospital had with his handwriting on them and Burnie's signature.

 

o0o0o0o

 

Joel wouldn't admit it if he was called out on it, but he starting feeling out the Omegas in the office in hopes of finding a new mate for his friend. If he wasn't enough and Burnie wasn't going to act like a gentleman, it was up to him to find someone for him. A new Omega would fix everything, he was sure of it. With a fresh mate, maybe Burnie would snap out of his dumbass-ery and take back that unspoken position of Pack Alpha in their company.

 

_I can fix this. I have to._

 

 


	54. Burnie and Joel III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The dance between them was getting more intimate, and soon one of them was going to take lead. 
> 
> -
> 
> There was already a constellation burning a path down his neck, what was one more star?

**I lied about this being three parts. Now it's four. Porn next time. I'm sorry (not very, cause this hot too.)**

 

* * *

 

Joel thought his weird, special feeling for Alphas went no farther than Burnie. Then Ryan pinned him, tried to choke him out, and bit him twice. He was completely and utterly dominated in front of three Omegas and one of his best friends by an Alpha he'd always considered lower on the food chain than himself.

 

“Beat it, kid.”

 

“Whatever, old man.”

 

That's how he ended up sitting on the thinly carpeted floor of a poorly lit back room in the main building with a dick threatening to go full-mast. Everyone else had cleared out but he couldn't make his legs move to follow them. His always-so-active mind was buzzing like a hive, the sensation traveling through his skin and down deep into his bones. He'd been put in his place, so to speak. He'd jabbed and pushed and prodded the beast until he received the full force of the Achievement Hunters' infamous “Mad King”.

 

Joel laid two fingers over the throbbing bite mark on his neck, the sting going straight to his aching cock. He'd never felt even the least amount of attraction to Haywood before. He'd found him a nice enough guy who got a little unsettling at times. He'd just been another old nerd like the rest of them with some nice shoulders and a pair of glasses to soften him up.

 

But Ryan had been ablaze above him. His eyes had been smoldering, the pull of his muscle visible beneath his shirt, the snarl on his lips flashing every sharp white tooth. While they'd been wrestling, Joel had been busy fighting a mental battle that he'd nearly lost. He knew he was overpowered just a few minutes in and he'd become torn between his natural Alpha instinct to keep battling for a spot on top and that softer side of him that wanted to submit.

 

Pressed up against the window with the younger Alpha's teeth buried in his neck, Joel had fought the burning desire to present himself to be mounted. It had come from the same weak place inside him that had driven him to show off for Burnie all those years ago. A swell of new urges had risen and crashed through him, filling up his head with a bunch of Omegan thoughts that he'd never really let himself have before. Like the ache of his empty body and how the fullness of a knot would fix it. The weight of a cock, the warmth of an Alpha on top of him. If Ryan would've pushed for it, he might've given it up without much more fight. He would've let himself be taken right there in front of Ray with Ryan's blood under his nails and the carpet burning his cheek.

 

Something old and slow had whispered to him in that fragile moment, every rational thought burning away to leave only that barely-there voice that came from his very DNA. It explained the reason why he was sitting here unfulfilled and on edge when he should've been relieved. The submitting bite Ryan had carved into his neck didn't end in the confirmation knotting that would've sealed the dominant display. It was one of those old traditions that some knotheads liked to keep up with. But it would've ended there, leaving Joel a lesser Alpha and Ryan free to start courting the Omega that had been in the room with him. Now, if they had been alone, and there was no Omega in question...

 

Still touching the inflamed flesh on his throat, Joel slid a hand down to palm his dick through his jeans.

 

It would’ve been a mating claim. But it wasn’t the prospect of Ryan having him so completely that had him worked up like this, it was the thought of another Alpha. If Burnie had been the one on top of him Joel would’ve bared his throat and spread his legs in an instant, guaranteed no clawing or bitching about it. He’d felt a fraction of his best friend’s raw energy and it easily matched Ryan’s, maybe surpassed it. But all Alphas had that same virile smell to them and it had been easy to imagine Burnie the one biting into him, branding him, licking over the mark to seal the scent in. The illusion had only lasted for a few moments but it had been long enough to get him worked up.

 

o0o

 

“What am I doing?” Joel sighed to himself later that night, an arm thrown over his eyes. The phrase repeated silently in his head a few times before he forced himself to look at the bottle in his other hand. It was slim and the faintest shade of silver, the label simple and neat – almost medicinal. It was the over-the-counter stuff doctors signed off on for Omegas who’s slick glands were impaired or had been removed for health reasons. It was sold near the lube and condoms in almost every corner store and this particular bottle had been hiding behind the guaranteed knot-fitting Alpha condoms. There was small, dark print at the bottom under the list of ingredients.

 

**SAFE FOR ALL STATUSES**

 

Joel was stretched out on his bed, naked as the day he was born in the faint glow of the bedside lamp. The curtains were closed on the world and there wasn’t a soul around who could guess what he could be doing this late at night. Hell, _he_ didn’t know what he was doing. Well, he did, but he didn’t want to acknowledge it. He could still feel every inflamed ridge of Ryan’s bite in his throat and it wasn’t hard to think of Burnie’s own sharp teeth, the breadth of his palms, the mix of fruit and spice and _depth_ of his scent.

 

Staring up at the ceiling and rolling the bottle of lube between his fingers, Joel put his feet flat on the bed and spread his knees. He shifted around to get comfortable, back scraping against the sheet and cock starting to fatten up in anticipation. He’d never done anything like this before and he was so nervous about the pain. He knew the basics. He’d had Beta and Omega partners of both genders before and he knew how to find a damn prostate but he didn’t want it to hurt. Walking funny tomorrow was the last thing he needed. He was already going to get snickered at for having Ryan’s stench all over him and he didn’t want to fuel the little office trolls.

 

Joel decided to throw himself into it. He poured a heavy drizzle over his fingers and grabbed his cock, gasping very softly as he grew harder under his own palm. He let his eyes closed to the room. He'd never really been into fantasizing while jerking off. There'd always been a willing partner around and if not then a quick pull always seemed to satisfy whatever desire had come up. But something started to flicker behind the Alpha's eyelids.

 

_Burnie stood at the end of the bed, shirt open at the collar to show off a few curls of golden chest hair. Those dark eyes were focused between his legs. There was a telling lump in the Alpha's pants that showed just how interested he was._

 

Joel moaned, thumbing over the head of his dick hard enough to make his hips rock up.

 

“ _What are you waiting for? Get yourself open for me.”_

 

Joel swallowed loudly in the quiet room, prying his hand off himself long enough to re-coat his fingers. He spread his legs further, lashes flicking as he imagined Burnie's eyes tracking the movements. Wet fingers skimmed the hard line of his dick and down past his balls, muscles clenching when he touched that sensitive patch of flesh just behind them. When they pressed down on his entrance he flinched but refused to let the strangeness of it stop him. His left hand started working over his cock a little awkwardly as he pressed a single finger inside. It was an uncomfortable dual sensation. He could feel the heat and clench of his own body but he could also feel the new pressure of being forced open. But he pumped past the near-pain and, with the image of a lusty Alpha in his mind, his body started to yield. He wasn't made for this but he wanted to see what it felt like. He wanted a taste of how good it could be if he gave into his long-denied hunger for something other than what was expected of him.

 

“ _How are you supposed to take me with one little finger?”_

 

“This is so fucked,” Joel muttered, slowly working a second finger inside himself. It might as well have been a whole fist with how impossibly big it seemed. He felt kind of vulnerable even though he was alone. Was this what Omegas experienced all the time? It would've been so much better if the Alpha in his mind was actually here to help, to cover him, to shield him from the emptiness of his bedroom. He felt silly, like he was overreaching. Maybe he wanted too much?

 

“ _Deeper, Joel.”_

 

Joel was seconds away from snapping his legs closed and calling it a night when one of his fingers brushed over something. It felt weird under his fingertips but it was pure pleasure through the rest of him. Like a dry fire. He'd never experienced anything quite like it. He touched it again, harder this time, stroking over it.

 

“Oh,” Joel whimpered, the Burnie in his imagination looking smug.

 

This wasn't so bad after all.

 

o0o0o0o

 

Ray handed him a stone-cold rejection and he couldn't even be upset about it. Maybe a little petulant, but not really surprised. Ryan honestly cared about the kid more than he ever could. Even he – in his infinite bitterness – could admit that they would make a sweet couple. The two had already engraved their scents into one another and they could often be found nuzzling around the office. If they didn't fuck soon, or at least start courting, he was going to personally lock them in a closet. (Not that they needed any trouble on that front.)

 

It reminded him of the same affection he had for Burnie and Jordan when they were together and he kind of wished it didn't because that was a whole other heartache.

 

o0o0o0o

 

“You smell like a knotted bitch,” Burnie commented as they both passed the door to the studio where the sets were held. Joel bristled and fought the urge to deck him.

 

“I do not!”

 

Burnie’s hand was lightning fast to the back of his neck, fingers clamping down hard and dragging him in like an unruly pup. The older Alpha gaped stupidly as his boss took a deep sniff from his throat, right there in front where anyone could turn their head and see it. He pawed lightly at the man’s chest in silent protest but his grip didn’t loosen.

 

“It’s a good smell on you, Heyman.”

 

“Fuck you too, _Burns_.”

 

“I’m serious.” Burnie only pulled back enough so they were face to face, close enough to feel soft puffs of breath. “You might even smell better with another Alpha’s scent hanging off you. Be better if it were mine, but Haywood’s not too bad.”

 

Joel shook off his slackened grip and took a step away to breathe in air that wasn’t saturated with Burnie’s rich scent. “What the hell does that mean?”

 

Burnie’s grin was too lusty to be called playful. “It means you smell good with other Alphas sniffing up your ass. If you got fucked, I wouldn’t let you come to work. No one would get anything done, they’d be too busy sniffing after you.”

 

Joel shot back a cocky smile of his own. “So, you admit I smell good, huh?”

 

The younger Alpha just shrugged and it made his stomach flip.

 

o0o0o0o

 

Burnie hadn't seemed too concerned about the stunt his two Alpha employees had pulled. From the jab about smelling good like a knotted bitch, Burnie had seemed kind of amused by the whole thing. Joel had taken to hiding out in his office until the scent of Ryan had faded but the other day the younger Alpha had come in and given him a gift, a peace offering of sorts. This morning when he'd come in he'd practically bumped into him in the break room. They'd had nothing to say to each other but when Joel had leaned down to get the creamer out of the fridge, Ryan had scented his hair. It was a barely there brush, a friendly greeting. It reminded him of his mother's cats casually rubbing their sides against each other as they passed.

 

They were friends before the nasty business with Ray, and now that the Omega had officially rejected him there was a new sense of comradery between them. Alphas who had fought and gained a new respect for one another. It was kind of old school but they didn't question it. When Joel scented him back, he thought that maybe some of those decrepit knothead rules had a place in modern day.

 

A couple hours later, Joel stood in front of the copier closest to his office with some paper work shuffled between his hands. He flicked through it, frowning at some of the faded ink from the middle pages. He needed to get copies of these to Gus, Kara, and Burnie but the machine was on the fritz and it kept lightening the contrast or putting black stripes through the pages. It was one giant pain in the ass.

 

“Joel?” he heard his boss call behind him, footsteps bringing him closer, “Is that stuff ready yet?”

 

The Alpha nodded absently, separating out the ruined sheets. “Mmhm, hold on.”

 

There was a loud sniff followed by a faint growl. Joel’s head perked up and his ears automatically tuned to the sound of the younger Alpha, wondering what was wrong now. Maybe an Omega had walked by or some bad news had come up on his phone or – _oh_.

 

Fingers brushed along the span of his shoulder blade, his button-down doing very little to cushion the sensation. Burnie started sniffing lightly along his shoulder, stepping close enough to mix their body heats. As the man’s hands trailed down his back, old feelings started to stir up. The whole thing felt suggestive, much to intimate for an open hallway that was now empty but very soon could be crowded.

 

“For fuck’s sake, I can _still_ smell Ryan on you. Did you even _try_ and wash him off?” Burnie didn’t sound too pleased.

 

“Well, he kind of marked me, so…” Joel trailed off pointedly, hoping the other would back off. He already felt sensitive about the subject and he could still smell traces of the faux-Omega slick on his fingertips from where he’d moved the bottle from the nightstand to the drawer this morning. He wasn’t ashamed of getting off on his own fingers (and boy, did he ever) but he wasn’t particularly proud or ready to analyze it too much.

 

A hand came out of nowhere and curled just under his jaw, forcing his head back. The movement threw off his balance and his feet kind of tripped over themselves but he didn’t have far to stumble before he was in the cradle of Burnie’s body. He tried to say his friend’s name in protest but stopped as curls grazed his temple, a hot tongue laving over Ryan’s lingering mark. Joel’s skin caught fire, first at the bite and then all through his limbs until even his fingers and toes were tingling.

 

“He shouldn’t have bit you this hard,” Burnie murmured into the mark, stubble skimming the sensitive flesh to further drive his scent in. Joel shoved aside the craving that made his knees threaten to buckle and his body to yield and managed to pry the Alpha’s hand off him.

 

“Jesus Christ, Burns, we’re in public,” was all he could really come up with, the faintest of tremors in his voice. “Don’t do that shit. I’m not a teenager, I can handle myself.”

 

Joel made some kind of startled animal sound as his belt was grabbed at the back and he was shoved forward, pinned to the copier, the contact painfully jolting through his hips. He slapped his hands down on the side of the machine in an attempt to push away but Burnie was already right behind him, that small bit of height difference between them finally making itself known. The older Alpha almost moaned as Burnie rocked gently against him in one of those dominant, animalistic displays that went straight to his cock.

 

“Did you like it?” Burnie demanded, a loaded question if he’d ever heard one. “Did it get you off being put in your place?”

 

Joel grit his teeth and turned around, getting right in the Alpha’s face with as much ferocity as he could muster. “Yeah, it kinda’ did. Not as much as when you did it, though.”

 

Burnie’s pupils blew out. He took a deep breath but it hitched when he seemed to catch Joel’s scent. Whatever the younger Alpha wanted to say was forgotten and he walked away without another word. Joel raked a hand threw his hair, heart pounding nervously as he wondered – not for the first time – what the fuck he was doing. _I’m going to ruin everything._

 

o0o0o0o

 

It took a week for the news to travel all the way through the office that Joel’s courting offer had been turned down by their newest and sweetest smelling Omega. It was deliberately kept from some people for fear of a reaction but there were never any secrets in the RT office. None that lasted very long at least. In the end it was sweet, well-meaning Miles that cracked a joke during some _RvB_ voice recording about how Ray was never really on the market in the first place and that Joel was kind of silly for not seeing it sooner.

 

Miles went home with a bruised shoulder and a new knowledge of just how hard the sound booth walls could be.

 

o0o

 

Joel trudged wearily to Burnie’s office, eyes and feet heavy from the restless night he’d gotten. He should’ve been used to his bouts of insomnia by now but every tired day was like a shitty surprise. Kerry had dropped by on his way to help record an _RT Life_ and told him that their boss wanted to see him. _I swear to God, if he meant Matt, I’m going to strangle the little fucker._ The office was pretty chill on who exactly was in charge of what but in his mind it was always Burnie who had his hand on the reins. He was the one who started all this and even if Matt was officially CEO he was still a Beta. _No offense to Betas but they’re not exactly natural born leaders._

 

He found the office open and walked in, stifling a yawn. “Burns?”

 

The door slammed shut behind him. Joel whipped around and found the younger Alpha standing there looked furious, jacket unzipped to show off the heave of his chest as he breathed heavily through the unknown rage. He honestly seemed ready to burst.

 

“Jesus, man, what the hell?” Joel asked, concern quickly mounting. “Are you alright? What happened?”

 

“Sit down.” The Alpha’s voice was hoarse like his own got when he’d been growling for too long.

 

“Oh fuck,” Joel plopped down in the seat in front of the man’s desk, going green around the edges as he thought of everything that could have happened. “We’re going under, aren’t we? Are we getting audited? Fuck, I knew it. I knew our stupid charges would get us in trouble. I told you and Gus both that the IRS isn’t something to fuck with and now they’re going to shut us down. How the _hell_ are we going to explain all the food expenses? The feathers, the glitter, all those pillows and new furniture. Oh Christ, I can’t breathe.”

 

Joel bent over and buried his face between his knees, wrapping his long arms around them in as close to the fetal position as he could manage. He usually took up so much space and it was a small comfort to be crumpled up like this. He tried his best to ease the cramp in his lungs; he took air in through his nose and out his mouth. _Imagine breathing in pure, sparkling, white smoke. Easy. Calm. Breath out black coal dust. Kick out the negative. In. Out. Positive. Negative._

 

Hands rubbed over his shoulders and scratched lightly through his hair, helping him along.

 

When he came back to himself and finally sat up, Burnie was standing in front of him with his fists on his hips and his upper lip curled to show off the gleam of his canines. The tenderness from a moment ago was gone. The younger Alpha had always possessed sharper teeth than him and it was intimidating to be glared down at while they were out. It was difficult not to cower. _What did I do?_

 

“Why were you courting Ray?”

 

Joel laughed nervously, the sound sudden and noisy in the office. It dissolved into a series of relieved, breathless chuckles that died out once he saw that Burnie’s expression only darkened at his mirth. “ _Oh_. Oh, you’re serious?”

 

There was a faint rumble in the younger Alpha’s chest.

 

“Don’t growl at me, asshole, you scared me half to death!” Joel scolded, gripping the arms of the chair to stand up. Burnie’s palms settled on each of his shoulders and shoved him back down into a slouch, the younger Alpha sliding a knee between his legs and bracing it on the chair cushion. Pinned like a bug beneath glass, Joel stared with wide eyes as his friend loomed over him. The broad shoulders he’d always admired cut off some of the light, the warmth radiating off his thick thigh almost sweltering between his own.

 

“Why?”

 

It was an order he couldn’t bring himself to disobey.

 

“He smells nice and it’s not like I asked him to marry me,” Joel joked, his attempt at a smile dying as the younger Alpha didn’t relent. “I’m a single guy, Burns. I – I guess I was getting lonely. He’s a sweet enough kid. I never expected a lot.” His voice thinned as Burnie moved closer, making him sink further down in the chair. He was nearly riding the other’s thigh. “It was fun. That’s all.”

 

“And Ryan?” Burnie needled. “Was he just for fun too?”

 

“N-No.”

 

“Did you let him fuck you? You sure as hell smelled like it.”

  
“Of course I didn’t,” Joel confessed, looking down to avoid the harsh stare. “He’s not…Ryan’s not…”

 

Burnie’s hands slipped off his shoulders and down to fan across his chest, still keeping him secure. “He’s not _what_ , Joel?”

 

Joel opened his mouth but the words were stuck somewhere in his gut. He couldn’t do it.

 

Burnie’s lips curled into a knowing smirk. “He’s not your _Alpha_? Is that it?”

 

The word made his cheeks burn and his only defense was a feeble snarl and a half-assed attempt to squirm away. Neither were very effective. “Shut the fuck up, Burns.”

 

“I’m just saying, Heyman,” Burnie drawled, thumbs digging in harder as his hands dragged down to his waist, “After that little spit-fuck skirmish between you and Ryan, you’ve got a _lot_ of Alphas curious how far you’d let that primal shit go.”

 

Joel practically fluttered under the man’s hands, confusion and desire weighing thick in his throat as he tried to swallow around it. “Probably all the way.”

 

The answer seemed to be just what he was looking for.

 

Burnie dipped his head down and latched his teeth to the side of Joel’s neck, biting lightly into the pale skin more as an aggressive request than any attempt to show off. The older Alpha responded beautifully, moaning quietly as he threw his arms around Burnie’s shoulders and tucked his face into the plush of the other’s jacket. It was more than permission, it was a huge relief to touch and be touched after all this time.

 

“Burnie?” _Please?_

 

Burnie’s mouth was restless and insatiably _hungry_ across his throat. The barest little bites sensitized and teased, the Alpha’s tongue soothing any hurt he left behind. His cheek and nose rubbed over whatever he could find, scenting him from behind his ear all the way down to the top of his collarbone. Joel released little pleased sighs laced with traces of a moan, head willingly tilted back. He didn’t care if there were more marks later. The ends of his fingers dug into Burnie’s back, keeping his close, anchoring himself so he didn’t fly away.

 

How was he supposed to say no to this? His own status faded into the background of his mind, instincts strangely quiet as the other Alpha covered him, smothering him in his scent. He’d never noticed how big Burnie’s hands were until one spread across his hip, keeping him fixed in a place he had no plans on leaving. A finger curled in the collar of his shirt and tugged it down to give room for a rougher bite, the Alpha's mouth so close to his nipple that it made the flesh harden. A finger traced over it through his shirt, the contact sending pleasant tingles down his thighs and straight to his hardening cock. He started to make another embarrassing happy sound when he was kissed, Burnie eating up the noise and licking the remnants from his teeth. Their lips were chapped and it tasted like stale coffee but it was wonderful. Joel chased the feeling, fingers gliding through dark gold curls as he tried to deepen it.

 

It was too good to actually be happening.

 

Burnie laid a hand at the base of his throat and pushed him back down deep into the squishy cushion. The younger Alpha stared without shame, looking as if he were trying to figure out if this moment was real or not as well. Joel panted lightly and let his head fall back on the chair, his friend's eyes dancing with the bob of his Adam's apple. Burnie wanted to bite him right there, painful and bright for the world to see. The urge was so strongly projected that Joel could feel it sizzling under his own tongue.

 

There was already a constellation burning a path down his neck, what was one more star?

 

_Why do I only get poetic when my dick's hard?_

 

Burnie took up his hand, cradling the back of it as he lifted it up toward his lips. Joel bit hard on his lip to keep from whining as the other Alpha started to rub his rough cheek on the pallid skin of his inner wrist. It was mouthed at with just as much vigor as he had his neck, dark eyes locked with his as his tongue darted out to taste it properly.

 

“I don't know how you do it,” Burnie awed. “You haven't aged a day in almost twenty years and you still manage to smell so fresh and clean. Like a new toy fresh out of the package.”

 

“I-Is that _good_?” Joel fumbled out.

 

“Better than good,” Burnie admitted lowly. The younger Alpha's lips pulled back and canines flashed before they sunk into his wrist. Joel cried out loud enough that anyone walking by would've heard it. It hurt but in a deliciously painful way that made him want it again in more intimate places. He bucked up, humping Burnie's leg hard enough to get some friction on his neglected cock. The action only made Burnie bite harder, leaving impressions deeper and more savagely than Ryan would've dared.

 

This wasn't just a brand. This felt like a claim.

 

Joel whimpered as he new wound was kissed, the ache of it traveling down his arm and spreading through his chest. But there was an apology in Burnie's eyes and more than enough ardor to make up for it. The younger Alpha leaned forward, dropping his wrist, knee dragging harder across Joel's cock and pulling another high-pitched sound out of him. He got a brief kiss as if Burnie could taste it lingering on his lips. Joel got lost in the brief touch and he didn't notice the palm creeping across the seat of his pants. The line of his zipper was teased, fingers pressing down so he could really feel it.

 

“Are you going to fight me like you did Haywood?” Burnie asked.

 

“No,” he breathed, completely weak to the swirl of their scents and the heady weight of the situation.

 

“Do you want to?”

 

“ _God_ , no.”

 

Joel was seconds away from getting everything he'd been daydreaming about. This was going to change everything. This moment – their dynamics – all the fooling around in college – being there through the divorce – Ryan's half-ass dominant display – it was all leading up to now. And then the door clicked open.

 

“Burnie?”

 

Burnie sat up, blinking dully at the doorway as he registered the new change in the room. Lindsay was in the doorway, the bustle of the office loud and vibrant behind her. Joel sank down as much as he could; his eyes lowered, cheeks growing red from more than fervor, erection flagging as the haze started to clear.

 

“Yeah, Lindsay?”

 

“Gus sent me to tell you that the podcast is in fourty-five minutes. He wants you – both of you – there in half an hour. Is that...alright? Are you busy? I can come back?” the Omega was rocking on her heels, eyelids drooping as the scent of them both nearly swamped her. She groped blindly for the doorknob and slammed the door shut, leaving them alone again.

 

“Fucking hell,” Joel moaned, covering his eyes with his hand, “We just got caught... _whatever-ing_ by a girl half our age. If I get one more scare like that today, my heart is actually going to give out. Everything's going to fail at once. Liver, kidneys, stomach... _ulcers_ , everywhere.”

 

“You worry too much,” Burnie laughed softly, shoving aside his hand so the older Alpha could properly see his mischievous expression. He cupped Joel's jaw, thumb pressing on the scent gland hidden there and massaging it gently. “I think we were in the middle of something.”

 

“Oh no, no way, not now,” Joel batted him away, ignoring the way his body was already responding.

 

“Joel,” Burnie whined with an impish grin, thumb trailing down until it could graze over the faint bite he'd left on the older Alpha's chest, mark now hidden by his shirt. “You should finish yourself off. Let me watch.”

 

Joel pulled a fake-thoughtful face even as his dick twitched in interest. “Hmm. How about, instead, you go fuck yourself?”

 

Burnie had the balls to pout. “I thought you said you weren't going to put up a fight?”

 

Joel smacked him away with more determination, standing up and shoving his friend away until he bumped into his own desk. “Don't you fucking touch me like that unless you mean it, Burns.”

 

Burnie threw up his palms in the universal sign of surrender. “I didn't mean anything by it.”

 

“That's kind of the fucking point, asshole.” He wished he had one of his usual hoodies or sweaters so he could cover up the throbbing bite on his wrist. Anything that would make him feel less vulnerable under the other Alpha's gaze. “I'm not going to get played with like you've been trying to do to the Omegas. It can't go like this.”

 

“Like what?”

 

“In your office in the middle of the without the fucking door even being locked. I've known you for long time, Burnie. I'm your oldest friend, and you're mine.” Joel took in a deep breath, strengthening his resolve. “And I think I deserve a little better than this.”

 

Burnie leaned back against his desk, looking thoughtful and disconcerted. “I thought you wanted it?”

 

“Not like this,” Joel declared, chest buzzing with the rabbit-pace of his heart and the fresh adrenaline shot of nerves that came with standing up to the Alpha. “Not when it doesn't mean anything.”

 

o0o

  
Joel had his hands down his pants the moment he closed his bedroom door, barely taking the time for a dollop of lube to ease the way before he was pumping himself so tight it almost hurt. He'd been on edge all day. The encounter in Burnie's office had shaken loose all that old love and it had dropped straight into all the affection he had for his boss, making everything ten times worse. There were tears in his eyes when he came, bitten wrist pressed to his nose so he could smell the two of them together.

 

He'd have to wear a watch to cover up the new, deep mark but there was nothing that could help the new thump of his heart.

 

o0o0o0o

 

A second bottle of faux-Omega lube was bought and stuffed into his desk drawer. Just in case.

 

* * *

 

**Got any ideas you want to see? Any sexy stuff you wanna see written out? Send me a request over on[my Tumblr](http://emono-omae.tumblr.com/) and let's make it happen **

 


	55. Burnie and Joel IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They finally find each other.
> 
> -
> 
> “I'm not calling you 'daddy'.”

[ **Joel's panties** ](http://emono-omae.tumblr.com/post/94048580511/joels-new-favorite-pair-of-panties)

* * *

 

Joel dug through his bottom dresser drawer with a gusto, flinging things over his shoulder as he searched for a clean pair of socks. They were the most elusive of bedroom creatures and it was starting to piss him off. He knew he’d done laundry recently and he could clearly remember pulling at least a dozen socks out of the dryer so where the hell were they hiding? He sifted through the dregs at the back but all his irritation flew out the window when his hand skimmed something soft. He grabbed the stack of clothing and pulled it out to the light, grinning when he was met with an assortment of silk and lace.

 

“Well hello, ladies,” Joel cooed down at his old secret, running his thumb over all the expensive material. “I haven’t shown you around in some time. Bet you were real lonely in that drawer, huh? Don't worry, I didn't forget about you.”

 

Joel canceled his bar plans with the guys from the office and spent the rest of the evening sorting through his apartment looking for all of his stashes. Thin black boxes and plastic bags were thrown onto the bed, the full-length mirror taken out of the bathroom and propped up in the bedroom. He slowly went through all his panties one by one, huffing and pouting through the whole ordeal as he realized he’d outgrown most of them. He pinched at his hips and thighs with a heavy heart. He didn’t think he was fat or anything but he wasn’t quite the whipcord he was in his youth.

  
“I’ve still got it,” Joel assured himself, shaking his ass at himself in the mirror and grinning at the way it bounced. He got emails every day telling him how much people loved him and that he looked ageless, and if barely legal girls (and a surprising number of boys) weren’t right about how hot he was, what _were_ they right about? He still managed to get looks at the office and sometimes a new intern would buck up the courage to ask him out and _that_ certainly was an ego boost.

 

So if he’d grown out of his collection, it was time to scrap it and go get some new ones. And if he had a certain Alpha in mind, that was his business.

 

o0o0o0o

 

Joel had always loved to be watched and admired. From the stage to the carpet in his old dorm to being in front of a camera – he craved it. Being the center of someone’s attention for even a few moments was worth embarrassing himself. It wasn’t his best quality but it had gotten him where he was today and he had learned to embrace it over the years. So when _Day 5_ started to get talked about he threw his name into the hat, offering to help write it and edit if he was allowed to act in it. He’d felt kind of silly and overeager when he saw the sketch one of their guys had done for the poster and realized he was meant to be the lead in it anyway.

 

Production and shooting were scattered as _Immersion_ and _The Gauntlet_ started to take more time than they’d anticipated. They did what they could but it was slow going, the project stretching almost two years with at least one more ahead of them. Actual filming could happen any day at any time but they all started to get used to it. After a while, they even got good at it.

 

Even with Joel being an exhibitionist, it was Kara who loved dressing him up like a doll. She chose all the costumes herself and demanded he wear more make up than what was strictly necessary for getting under the lights. Like today. Kara had pushed for this light charcoal grey eyeliner and had threatened to strap him down when he cringed away from the mascara wand. But there had been some technical difficulties and eventually Matt just told Joel to go back to his office and get some work done. They would call him back if they could figure it out.

 

“Just a little bit of blush, Joel,” the Alpha mocked, slapping his hand down on the table for the third time in an hour so he didn’t scratch his face. Kara would make him sit through the whole process again if he fucked up her hard work. He leaned back in his seat, the spreadsheet he’d been double-checking for Gus glowing on the monitor in front of him. It was boring in comparison to the rush he got from being on camera and he was getting restless. He made an impatient, childish noise and threw his arms out over the sides of his chair.

 

There was a surprising rush of cold on his stomach. The tight shirt Kara had wiggled him into had ridden up to expose more pale skin. Despite his protests, the jeans she’d given to him had been loose and fell a bit lower on his hips than he would’ve normally liked. And he didn’t wear belts. He very rarely wore his new underwear to work but they had called to him like a siren song this morning when he was getting dressed. It had just felt _right_ to slide them on and tuck himself in them. It was just his bad timing that he had to be on set today. At least he hadn’t put on anything too racy or he would’ve had to run out and remove it all before Kara caught sight of it. This underwear had been easy to hide with some quick pants changing but garters would’ve been a bit more tricky.

 

He chuckled at the memory of the time he’d shaved his legs with a razor and had nearly flayed himself alive just to have the sheer of stockings against his skin.

 

 _Maybe I’ll try that again_ , Joel mused, staring at the strip of frilly black lace peeking out from beneath the hem of his pants. _But with that fancy hair-removal stuff. I’m not fucking ‘shaving’ ever again. I had razor burn for a week after that. But it did feel good._

 

There was a knock on his door before it flew open.

 

Burnie nearly tripped over his own feet getting inside, pale and shaken, and went straight for the trash can near the wall. The man's glasses almost fell off his face as he started throwing up. Joel jumped up when he heard his friend dry-heaving, shoulders shaking and back arched as his body tried to expel an empty stomach.

 

“Jesus, Burns,” Joel cursed, walking up beside him and rubbing a hand up and down the Alpha's back. He made a small chittering noise, real concern swallowing up his words. Burnie had sweat beading at his temples and his breath was rough between silent lurches. He sniffed at his friend's shoulder, lashes fluttering wildly for a moment as he struggled to recognize what he was inhaling. Burnie's scente was particularly potent today, the spice in his wine-smell coming out twice as strong. Joel thought of the doctor and his warning about the dangerous hormone cocktail that would only increase over time. He resisted the impulse to check the man's lymph nodes to see if they were swollen. There was almost a tang to him, like the beginning notes of someone who was getting sick. Something undertoned the nasusea. Something more. And on top of it all there was a hint of vanilla. _Ray._

 

“What happened?” Joel inquired once the heaving stopped.

 

“I...” Burnie pulled a face. “Do you have any mouthwash?”

 

The older Alpha's heart lurched at the rough, defeated tone. He led Burnie to the vinyl chair in front of his own desk, deliberately ignoring the parody of their tryst from a week before. The heavy watch on his wrist covered up the evidence of that. He sat the man dodwn on then started fishing through his desk. He found a small bottle of water and an individually packaged fresh tip and handed them over. He waited patiently as Burnie swished his mouth clean and gargled out every bit of the bitter taste. The items were trashed and Joel handed over two DUO mints that were eagerly taken.

 

“Are these strawberry?” Burnie asked weakly, eyes wet from the strain and the promise of tears.

 

“Strawberry and mint.”

 

“It's nice,” he chuckled hollowly. His breath tripped and shifted and the sound twisted into a sob, the man's head fell down to hide his crumpled expression. Joel dropped down on his knees in front of him, threading his fingers through the other's curls. He gently pet through them, making all those little senseless noises Alphas had been making since the dawn of time to calm down their mates.

 

“Burnie, please,” Joel murmured into his hair, thumb blindly tracing the man's cheeks and brushing away the few stray tears that had leaked through the curtain of his lashes. “What happened?”

 

“I kissed Ray.” The statement was blunt, drawn out in the dead timbre of a man who'd given up.

 

Joel pursed his lips tightly, jealousy tickling his veins. “You what?”

 

“In my office, just now,” Burnie's words were threading out. “I touched him. I...I know he's one of those Omegas who gets scent drunk really easy and I used it against him. I was...I was a sick bastard and I took advantage of a kid. He looked so fucking devastated. _Fuck_.” He splintered completely, leaving only a raw whimper behind not unlike a wounded animal. “And Gavin.”

 

Joel tried to tip his friend's head up but it wouldn't budge. “What about Gavin?”

 

Burnie took off his glasses and let them dangle between his fingers as he rubbed his tired, aching eyes. The lack of an answer told Joel more than he wanted to know. He craned his neck down to bump their foreheads, begging to know just how far the Alpha had pushed. Burnie confessed it all in a hushed whisper, from the terribly aggressive way he'd tried to court the young Omega all the way to the encounter in the bathroom where he threatened to fire him. The word _rape_ hung in the air between them. Joel was tempted to cry with him. He couldn't imagine what his friend was feeling but doing something like that to one of their employees meant the situation was worse than he had imagined.

 

When Burnie finally looked up at him, his face was wrecked. “I...I think there's something _really_ wrong with me, Joel.”

 

It was a cool relief to hear it out loud. An Alpha that would admit that wasn't too far gone enough for therapy. He wouldn't have to use those contact forms, they wouldn't have to drag his friend away. There was still hope. As Joel smiled and reveled in the loosening bands of worry in his chest, the other's confession kept spilling between them.

 

“Why didn't you tell anyone sooner?” he needled.

 

“I didn't want to believe it,” Burnie admitted, clisng his eyes as the older Alph rubbed away the drying tears on his cheeks again. It was comforting. It had been way too long since someone had taken care of him. “Matt is clueless.”

 

“He's a Beta, man, don't judge him too hard,” Joel tisked as the first hint of anger flared up in the man's tone.

 

“And what can I say to Geoff?” Burnie agonized. “After Michael...and now they're taking in Gavin...when he finds out, if he doesn't know already...he won't want anything to do with me. How can I ask him for he-help?” He hitched like was going to cry again but he swallowed it down with a determined grimace. “Why would he want to help me after what I did? Him, the boys, Ryan...God, Joel, what am I doing? Was that doctor right? Am I...am I going to hurt someone?”

 

“You're overwhelmed,” Joel assured him soothingly. “We don't have to decide anything right now. But this is good, Burns. This is _so_ good. I knew you were under all that.”

 

“What should I do?” Burnie asked quietly, leaning in to the other Alpha's hands as they continued to stroke through his hair. It felt nurturing, like the age-old habits engraved into their DNA and filling up the tips of their fingers and the ends of their noses in a drive to scent and groom. “I saw my friend's dad go crazy after his mom left. They dragged him out of his house. They broke his arm, I could see the bone sticking out, and even after that they still tazed him until his mouth went white. What if they...what if that...?”

 

“I'm not going to let them put you away. Look at me, Burns. _Look at me_.” Joel grabbed his chin tightly so he couldn't hide his face again. “You're just a little out of whack, buddy. But we can fix this.”

 

“How?” he croaked, brow knit in confused hope.

 

“Maybe first we start with some apologies,” Joel tried to joke, brushing back a stray curl. “You know what you did with Gavin was fucking awful, right?”

 

Burnie winced but nodded.

 

“Good, man, that's so good,” Joel enthused, pecking a light kiss on his lips. “But we'll explain it to everyone and they'll understand. You'll get their trust back, I just know it. You're a good guy. Shit, you're the best guy I know. It won't end like your friend's dad, okay? No one's going to break your arm.” He took his hand, squeezing it, smiling into his distraught face. “Not while I'm around.”

 

Joel smiled at the way Burnie slumped in pure, sincere relief. The tightness in his face and his shoulders melted away and it was like shedding off ten years. No real decisions would be made now. They'd have to talk about contacting a Beta therapist and work through his urges and behavior, sift out all the bad, point out what was unacceptable to his hormone-riddled mind and work on it. Joel would have to call pharmacies to find out who was carrying those hormone suppressants that Alphas took when they were trying to play Beta. They were good for complicated work environments or just wanting to keep your status a private issue and they would probably do wonders to help Burnie kick down those urges. He'd have to talk to Dr. Walker again, maybe some others, and do some proper research.

 

“Not to look a gift horse in the mouth or anything – but why did you come to me?” The idea hit him suddenly and he had to voice it or else it would creep up on him later like all his other paranoid thoughts. Even with all those excuses Burnie had known Matt longer, and he and Geoff had been really close for years. Kara was leaps and bounds more empathetic, and Gus had a cooler head than them all. There were a dozen other better choices.

 

Burnie frowned deeply, slipping his glasses back on. “Don't play coy, asshole. You know you're everything to me.”

 

It felt like a jab to the solar plexus and he couldn't do anything else but stare.

 

“Ever since college, you've been there for me.” Burnie rubbed his cheek harder against the back of the man's hand, trying to convey everything he couldn't put into words. “Jordan and the movie, this company, the burn, whatever's going on with my body – you stayed. Good or bad. No one else has done that.” He wet his lips, still on edge. “Don't make me say I love you, man. I've thrown up twice today and I felt up a kid half my age.”

 

They were both too frazzled for any of that right this moment. Instead, Joel took off his watch and offered his wrist. The other Alpha's mark was still branded there, red with the faintest indents from sharp canines. Burnie took it gratefully and pressed his lips to the sensitive skin. Joel scooted closer until he was firmly between the man's knees, nuzzling his face into the other Alpha's neck to scent him back. Not on the side with the scar, never at the site of the old bond-bite.

 

They lost themselves in the scent of one another, eyes closed and breathing slowing down until the room was filled with the steady beat of their hearts. The clock on the wall ticked evenly, minutes cutting away as they indulged in the comfort. With every buss of lips and brush of fingers, they carved out their own little safe place in the world.

 

Once he was sure Burnie was back to himself, Joel sat back on his heels and looked him over. “Everything's going to be better now, man.”

 

The younger Alpha actually smiled. “Somehow, I believe you. You've always been insufferably right about this kind of stuff.”

 

“One of us has to,” Joel teased, feeling more light-hearted than he had in days.

 

Burnie's eyes started roaming over him with more intent. “You look...really good today, man.”

 

“This stuff?” Joel looked down at himself, remembering his costume. “Kara put me in it. We were supposed to film today but it didn't work out.”

 

“You're wearing make-up.”

 

That actually made the older Alpha flush a little bit. “She was really insistent. And quick.”

 

“It looks nice,” Burnie approved, gaze flicking down to the ground.

 

He stood up. “Thanks.”

 

“Enough of this mushy shit. Come here.”

 

“Wait – what – no, Burns. Ha, Burns! Stop it!” Joel laughed in protest as the younger man got up and wrestled him into a headlock, digging his knuckles into the top of his head. He tried to squirm away but the other was stronger than him, one arm curled around his neck while the other was busy driving a noogie into his styled hair. Joel grabbed at the forearm across his throat but he didn't make too much of an effort to get away. It felt like old times.

 

The Alpha's fingers fanned out through his hair, ruffling it free of the product. “You're a good friend.”

 

“Better than you deserve,” he jabbed.

 

“Way better.” Burnie tightened his grip with a flirtatious grin, contorting his friend's long body even more. “And maybe I just like seeing you bent over.”

 

“You're such an ass!” Joel pushed at the man's arm, trying to wiggle away a bit more convincingly. “Let me go!”

 

“Oh, what? Joel, man, we were having fun,” Burnie chuckled, moving with him and keeping his hold. “We're friends, we're hugging. This is hugging.”

 

“This is grade-school bullshit,” Joel countered. “Let me go and I'll show you wrestling. I've gotten better since college.”

 

“That shit with Ryan says otherwise,” the younger Alpha taunted, getting an indignant huff out of his friend. Burnie was about to tease him some more, the act being one of his favorite past-times, but the words died out as he spotted something that definitely wasn't boxers. “Holy shit, Joel, are those – are you wearing women's underwear?”

 

Joel froze, horror washing through him as he realized how far down his pants had ridden. He could imagine what his friend was blatantly staring at. The panties he'd chosen this morning had been some of his more risqué ones. Trimmed in black lace with heavily embroidered flowers swirling across his cheeks, fishnet filling in the space between the stems and petals. There was a peek-a-boo at the top of his ass, hugging the dip of his back, ribbon lacing across the small tease of a window. Silky, thin material covered his dick and was topped off with a small bow right above his dick. When he'd put them on this morning they had felt heavenly against his skin, he hadn't cared how slutty they had looked. Now, however, he was regretting the decision.

 

“D-Don't look,” he begged, eyes clenching shut. A blush started to burn at his ears, threatening to creep across his face as the other man openly gaped at his secret. His shirt was roughly raked up above his stomach to give a better view. Burnie's fingers skimmed across the lace trim laying across his back. The material was tugged as if to test it and the sensation made his cock twitch. “ _Ah_ – Burnie, I said _don't_ – ”

 

“Holy shit, you are!” Burnie gawked, smile threatening to split his face.

 

Joel squawked indignantly when he felt those blunt fingers hook into the ribbons laced at the top of his cheeks. “Hey – wait!”

 

“Man, they are really nice lookin',” Burnie whistled lowly. “Is this fishnet? Jeez, they must've been expensive.”

 

Cool air met his ass through the damn-near transparent material as the Alpha snaked his hand around and flipped the button on his jeans to make them fall most of the way down his ass. Joel started sputtering breathlessly, hips twitching without his consent as his friend pinched some of the stitched material and rubbed it between his fingers. Every movement went straight to his rapidly hardening cock, the blood rush to his cheeks and down south leaving him dizzy. He'd never had a partner see him in his panties, let alone touch them. It was a new, intoxicating feeling. He was torn between wanting to crawl in a hole and die and presenting for the Alpha to admire.

 

A warm palm slid down the swell of his ass, fingernails scratching past the denim line of his jeans in their greedy search for more. “Wow. They look rough, but they're really soft.”

 

“Burnie, _please_ ,” Joel pleaded weakly, all his struggling inching his loose zipper down and helping the material sag down around his thighs. He didn't know if he was asking for more or less but he didn't know what else to do. His skull felt like it was full of agitated bees and his knees were injected with jelly, the Alpha's heavy scent washing over them from their proximity. It sunk into his skin, his very cells, and the hand laying on him through his panties was starting to burn.

 

“They're pretty,” Burnie remarked, fingers sliding down without hesitation to brush over his hole and over the curve of his balls. “How can I _not_ look? This stuff was made to be touched, Heyman. I can't believe you wore them to work.”

 

Joel wiggled out of the other Alpha's grip and stumbled into his own desk, hand fumbling on his fly to drag his pants back up from where they were trying to puddle around his knees. He tried to button them but he was starting to shake, the adrenaline his glands were pumping out becoming too much for the rest of his body to process. His neck tingled from where Burnie's arm had been resting and his dick was starting to throb with the lingering pressure of the man's hand on his ass. “I didn't mean to. I-I may have a few pairs a-and I saw these in the top drawer...I don't know why I did...it was – I just – they – ”

 

He heard Burnie walking closer and he could feel the moisture from his swelling cock staining the inside of his panties, making it all the more filthy. He knew he had to look like a hot mess with his face beet red and his midriff exposed and that only upped how unsteady he felt. Joel jerked forward when he felt fingertips on the dip of his back right above the lace, the motion knocking over several of the knick-knacks on his desk. His hands darted out to start fixing the sudden mess he'd made but they were twitchy and he ended up just knocking more things over. Paper clips scattered on the tabletop and a stack of folders with different types of legal forms falling over the edge and fluttering across the carpet.

 

“Fuck.”

 

o0o

 

Burnie watched his friend dissolve into a stuttering, shivering mess with just the barest of touches on his smooth back. Shame and arousal poured off the older Alpha in thick, enticing waves. The man's fresh-out-of-the-box smell was tainted with it. But the scent markers were hitting all his buttons and it brought out his protective instincts. Joel's desk was wrecked under his stilted movements and it would've been amusing under normal circumstances but he knew it was from nerves. He was feeling humiliated for those pretty, fancy panties while Burnie's cock thickened up at the very sight of them riding above those nice dark jeans. The Alpha's grey, tight shirt was clinging to the top of his ribs and it was showing off a delicious slab of pale flesh that was begging to be marked.

 

Joel was still trying to explain away everything but he was working himself up, tongue tripping up until he was interrupting himself and aborting words in the middle of saying them until it was all just gibberish. Burnie had always hated to see his articulate friend collapse into a neurotic mess. He tried to shush him and make light of the situation but the other wasn't listening.

 

“Dude, come on, use your words,” Burnie chuckled. But Joel's breath was catching and his blubbering got more frantic and apologetic as if he thought he'd done something truly wrong. A tang of saline met the air. Eventually the jumbled speech died off to a low, nearly soundless whine. He wanted to soothe Joel...his oldest, most precious friend. Someone he carried a flame for in college that he was too weak and cowardly to act upon except for a few choice times where beer had smoothed the way. Times that he mulled over at night. Times he only really thought about with his hand around his cock.

 

After Jordan had come into his life those feelings had been put on the back burner, boiled down to the strongest friendship he'd ever had. Lately they'd been flaring up and they were threatening to catch to a full blaze with all these urges to _hold_ and _protect_ coursing through him. He'd only ever wanted the best for this cocky, sweet Alpha that had always shown throat to him when asked. Only to him, before Ryan came along. God, he'd been so jealous to smell Haywood all over his friend. And that bite – that had nearly driven him over the edge.

 

Now Joel was gritting his teeth and bowing his head, showing off the creamy line of his neck. His nape was smooth and bare of any mark. Burnie remembered that day on the floor of their college dorm floor when he'd latched his teeth on that spot just left of it. He could still recall the feel of the meat beneath his teeth, the way the whipcord of an Alpha in front of him had gone limp and compliant. That particular memory had kept him warm on many lonely nights away from home.

 

With Joel moments from hyperventilating, there didn't seem to be a better option for either of them.

 

Burnie swept his right arm across the desk, knocking almost everything off except the computer monitors. It was a huge mess that he fully planned to clean up and that drew a ridiculously high-pitched sound out of the man in front of him. “Burnie!”

 

Burnie shushed him, thumb tracing a line across stitching and fishnet. Joel tried to rock back into him but he seemed to struggle with himself, trying to stay still at the same time. Burnie grabbed a fistful of dark hair and shoved the older man face down, crowding in on him until their hips aligned, draping himself over his back. Joel's struggled and started to snarl, Alpha instincts coming out at the threat of submission. But he ignored it and bit down on that long-neglected sweet spot, canines itching to bite deeper and harder where the fattest scent gland was hidden. The one chock full of oxytocin that had sealed him and Jordan together for long, the one that could lace together the very biological signatures of two people so tightly that they wouldn't know where one ends and the other begins. He'd sworn to never be attached to anyone like he'd gotten himself attached to Jordan but Joel was tempting beneath him.

 

Once he clamped his jaw the older Alpha went completely limp in just a few seconds, the feral snarl twisting into a whimper. He did buck but it was only once and just few a few seconds, a test how far this dominant display would go. Burnie bit harder in response and ground the bulge of his half-hard cock into the man's ass. And what a nice ass it was, firm and thick with a lot more to hold onto than the twinkie little Omega asses he'd been chasing all his life. There was real power underneath him, an established Alpha submitting so willingly under his teeth. He felt honored for the privilege and fucking turned on. He'd always wanted Joel in one way or another. The man knew every wrong he'd committed, he'd seen him at his lowest point. Even with his dick inappropriately tuned to sweet-smelling Omegas like Monty and Ray, there was no one else he would rather have beneath him than Joel. No one cared about him more.

 

Damn their statuses. Burnie would do anything to prove himself and redeem his image in Joel's eyes. Showing his friend that he could soothe all those worries with a mere bite was just the first step.

 

o0o

 

Joel panted into the sleek, cool metal of his desk. His fingers, so erratic a few moments go, twitched weakly on the surface as pure bolts of pleasure shot from the hot latch on the dip of his neck down to his toes and back up to bleed into his listless muscles. Whatever embarrassment he'd felt before had been whited out by the other Alpha's teeth. It was so dangerously close to the bonding gland but not nearly deep enough to scare him. There wouldn't be a scar but he'd surely be marked for weeks. The bastard...he'd remembered that weak spot, the kind of spot an Alpha always sought on their Omegas to ground them. Was that what Burnie saw him as? A potential mate? A conquest? Something more?

 

The idea snapped together in a sharp moment of clarity. Without all his insecurities and doubts clouding up his mind the solution was clear. A way for them to both get what they wanted and to protect everyone – the Omegas, his heart, Burnie. It felt so simple he wondered why it had taken him this long to come up with it. Maybe he was too nervous, maybe it was their common status. Whatever it was it didn't matter anymore. They had let this go on long enough.

 

Burnie slowly released his neck, kissing and licking lightly at the inflamed skin before he straightened back up. Joel braced his palms on his desk and pushed himself up, taking a few slow breaths before turning around to face the other Alpha. Burnie looked flushed and his mouth was glossy, teeth raking over his bottom lip as if to chase the taste of his flesh.

 

“You want this, Burns?” Joel flicked the button of his pants to show off the dark little bow above his full cock, meeting the man's gaze full on with his chin tilted up and his shoulders squared. There wasn't an inch of him who yielded any longer. “There's some rules.”

 

The flip of power and the fresh rush of pheromones in the air had Burnie's pupils blowing dark and wide behind his glasses, nostrils flaring as he drank it all in. The younger Alpha started to advance, moving in to stake some sort of claim of higher position, but Joel wasn't having it. He slapped a hand on the man's stomach, flashing a bit of canine that made him obediently stop.

 

“If we're going to do this, we're doing it my way,” Joel demanded, hand sliding up the clothed chest until he grabbed his chin, bristled biting at his fingertips. “And I am fucking serious about it. You need someone to take your aggression out on? You start feeling grabby and uneasy? You come to me. And _only_ me.” Instead of giving ground, he dragged Burnie in a step just by the grip on his face to show just who really was in charge here. “You're not going to put a finger on me if you plan on going out to the bar tonight and picking up some pretty little Omega who'll pant after your knot.”

 

Burnie was the one panting now, the lump in his jeans revealing just how interested he was. “Is this part of the therapy?”

 

“Consider it an incentive.” He ran his thumb along the other Alpha's slick, lower lip. “You touch Ray or any of the boys again, and we're done. I mean it.”

 

Burnie was practically vibrating as he fought with himself. His body was warring with itself as it most likely remembered Ray's scent, the always-enticing smell of every Omega, and the siren call of sweet slick and wet holes and _so soft_ skin and hair. They were beautiful, temping creatures but what Joel was offering was beyond that. It was about true satisfaction, a relationship built on years of trust and affection ready to grow into something so much more than anything either of them have had before.

 

“One hundred percent commitment?” Burnie questioned, taking another half-step closer so that the older Alpha's fingers fell from his face back down to the firm muscle of his stomach. The challenge in Joel's eyes only fed his desire.

 

“Nothing less.” He took a gulp of Burnie's lustful scent and his cock throbbing visibly through his panties. “Either way. You wanna' fuck me, Burns?”

 

Burnie nodded quickly.

 

Joel let his fingers tease the top of the man's jeans, nail tracing the bronze button that held the fly together. “You want me to bend over for you?”

 

There was a choked moan as an answer.

 

“Then promise me. I know it's hard but you proved you could be better,” Joel breathed as the man dipped in until their mouths were almost touching, warm breath washing over two pairs of sensitive lips. His resolve was threatening to crack as need started to snake through him. “Just us?”

 

“Just us,” Burnie swore. “I'll try, I promise.” He started to sink to his knees, refusing to look away even for a second even as he shed his glasses and tossed them aside. “For you...anything.”

 

“You've gotta' be fucking serious about this. _Burnie_ ,” Joel whimpered he man's name but he quickly bit down on his lip to cut it off. A clever tongue licked a stripe up the hard curve of his cock through the flimsy silken material that did so little to muffle the feeling. He wasn't as thick as most Alphas but his length more than made up for it with his partners but now that wasn't doing him any favors. The tip threatened to break free of the top and every slow, teasing lick just made his blood pound harder.

 

“You said not to touch you if I didn't mean it.” The Alpha's hands curled over his hips, fingertips dancing along the faint line of his hip bones and thumbs tracing the soft curve of his belly. “I mean this.” When Joel was sure he was getting his composure back he got a heavy, long lick up to the edge of his panties that made him shudder.

 

“But you're s-sick, okay? You have to fight whatever your stupid – _ah_ – Alpha brain is telling you with the Omegas. They're your – _fuck_ – your friends first, remember? No more stunts like today.”

 

“Never,” Burnie whispered hotly against the flimsy barrier that was rapidly soaking under his ministrations. Joel grabbed his curls and pulled, refusing to give in to an empty promise. The younger Alpha whined under his breath so he mouthed at the panty-clad cock in front of him in apology. “I'll try.”

 

“Trying.” A smile flickered across his face. “That's all I can ask, right?”

 

Dark eyes fluttered up to him, the intensity within them threatening to bore a hole right through him. “Whatever you want, it's yours.”

 

“Jesus, Burns-” Joel's protest was swallowed up as the man stood up and kissed him,

 

“You have no idea how long I've wanted this,” Burnie growled into his mouth, not want to part a scant inch for fear of this whole delicate situation would fall apart and they'd be left back at the beginning.

 

That threw him for a loop. “What? Me?”

 

Burnie chuckled lowly but there was no malice or mocking there. “Jesus, Joel, you're so smart but so fucking dumb. Did you think I was just fucking around with you in college? I was trying to court you but you were always so hot-and-cold about it and you kept running around with Beta girls…I didn’t think you were into it.”

 

“Is that why you pinned me to everything?” Joel marveled.

 

“Yeah, I…” Burnie was really blushing now and his words were muttered and hushed like he didn’t really want him to hear. “I was trying to flirt, man. I was a kid, I didn’t know what I was doing.”

 

“No, you really didn’t,” Joel agreed, sighing when his damp cock brushed the front of the man’s jeans. “We were both Alphas, what was I supposed to think? You were so fucking _casual_ about everything, I just assumed you were trying to show that you were a better Alpha or something. I wanted you,

  
“I never believed in all that dynamic structure before this shit with Jordan.” Burnie started laying scratchy kisses along his jaw. “All I knew was that you were hot and I wanted you. But apparently you’re happy following after kids like Ray.”

 

“Jesus Christ,” Joel rumbled out, tilting his head so the man could nibble at the tender spot just below his ear, “I was feeling him out. I just wanted to see if he’d be a good mate.”

 

Burnie pulled back, frowning, and the older Alpha rolled his eyes.

 

“For _you_ , dumbass,” Joel pointed out. “You were busy trying to get your dick wet with one night stands so I’ve kind of been fucking looking for a mate for you for months. I thought it would make you feel better. I mean, he’s a nice enough kid, but you needed someone more than I did.”

 

Burnie swiped his bangs out of his eyes. “You didn’t have to look that hard.”

 

The cheesy line made them both laugh but the mirth fizzled down into a frustrated itch that crept under their skin. They thought of all the years they’d been apart before Rooster Teeth, the frustrating nights in college where they could’ve been fucking in their dorm and enjoying the flexibility of their youth instead of thinking of each other in separate rooms to the tune of Matt’s snoring. Wasting time was a pet peeve for both of them and this new revelation drove up both their desire and their irritation.

 

Joel threw his chin at the door. “Go lock the door and check for holes in the blinds. I want you to fuck me.”

 

Burnie slipped his leg between the older man's thighs, blunt nails teasing along pale ribs in a threat to scratch deeper. “Get out the lube I know you have hidden in your desk and I will.”

 

Joel looked him over. The scrutinizing gaze made the younger Alpha stand up a bit straighter and puff out his chest in an instinctive move to make himself bigger, more intimidating. “You better be rough, Burns. I want to feel it tomorrow. This won't work if you hold out on me.”

 

Those dark eyes seemed to clear up a little. “Wait...are you just doing this because you think it'll _fix_ me? I'm not going to start whatever this is based on some kind of pity fuck.”

 

“And you call me dense,” Joel snarked. “I've wanted this for years. I didn't want to want it, but I fucking do. We've waited long enough, don't you think? You better make it good.”

 

That seemed to relight the younger man's desire, bringing a smirk to his face. “You think you can take it?”

 

“I know I can,” Joel shot back, reaching around and grabbing Burnie's ass. It felt good in his palm and he wanted to feel the clench of the muscle as those wide hips surged and fucked new pleasure into him. They rocked into him in response as their owner's breath hitched hard.

 

“You want me to treat you like an Omega?” Burnie growled, teeth snapping at his lips when they got too close. It was base, barbaric, and it made Joel's dick throb. “Crack you open with my knot, breed you deep and-” The Alpha's growl trailed off into a pleading moan, brows furrowing up. “C-Can I knot you? Please, J, pretty please. I'll get you open and slick until it doesn't hurt too much, I promise. I'll take care of you.”

 

“God,” Joel groaned, hooking a leg around the man's own and kissing him until he could form words again. “I'm going to be _very_ disappointed if you don't. Do you know how long I've been wanting this? How long I've been beating myself up for it? If I don't get everything-”

 

“Oh, you will,” Burnie rushed to promise.

 

Joel hooked his fingers in hard, grunting when his delicately-clad cock rubbed against coarse denim. “I want you to treat me like you've wanted to treat me since you first kissed me drunk and stupid junior year. I want you to fuck me like you own me.”

 

Burnie visibly shuddered. “Will I, after this?”

 

“Maybe,” Joel snorted, “If you do it well enough. Go.”

 

With a last, lingering kiss, the two managed to pry apart long enough to do get ready. Joel walked around his desk and pulled open the bottom drawer, knocking aside some folders there until he could find the sleek, silver bottle of that expensive lube that mimicked Omega slick. ( _Subire_ , the label read.) He glanced at the blinds, now all sealed and tucked tight to close the gaps.

 

 _Fuck it_ ,he thought before shucking off his jeans. Shoes and socks were kicked under his desk. His shirt came last, the collar catching in his hair and shaking out whatever product Kara had raked through it earlier. “No one better walk in this time.”

 

“God, last time.” Burnie tested the knob to make sure the lock stuck this time. “You looked so good. I couldn't stop staring at the marks I left. I wish I had gotten my hand down your pants, though. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since... _wow_.”

 

Joel smirked and leaned back against the desk, thrusting his hips out to show off the line of hard flesh beneath his panties. He moaned as the head popped free of the top and tickled against the lace fringe, the sound more for show than anything. It did the trick and brought the younger Alpha right over, eyes glued to the wet head and the splay of silk that was going translucent. Joel preened, showing off the long line of his body and growling low in satisfaction when he made the man pant. He loved being watched, he accepted that, but he liked Burnie's eyes on him more than he would've liked anyone else in this position. It brought out urges that he hadn't felt in years, the kind that had reared their ugly head when Ryan set teeth in his neck. And no matter how much he liked Haywood as a guy and an Alpha, he couldn't compete with the heat in Burnie's gaze. “I don't want to be in control. Can you handle that?”

 

“Have you played like this before with other people?” Burnie asked, eyes still trained on the flushed head of the other man's cock.

 

“Mostly Omegas, and always on the other side, but yeah. I know we run around with children but I'm not a kid, Burns. I know what I want out of this,” Joel assured him, dragging his thumb along the lace hugging his hip.

 

Burnie's Adam apple bobbed as he took the info in. “You want me to wreck you and then put you back together? I can do that. _God damn_ , can I do that.”

 

Joel nodded, setting the lube pointedly on the table. “I want to feel all that aggression you've been bottling up.”

 

Burnie shook his head, trying to think of all the way this could go wrong instead of every way it could be amazing. “Do we need a, uh, a-a safe word or something? You've never done this before, right?”

 

“Nope,” Joel punctuated the word with a snap of his underwear, the elastic giving him a pleasant tiny sting, “But I trust you. Because if you hurt me – if you fuck this up for us – I swear to God I'll bite your cheek off Hannibal Lecter style. No hesitation.”

 

“That's just it, I don't want to fuck this up,” Burnie explained earnestly, hands curling along both sides of his jaw. Broad thumbs swept along smooth cheeks and the touch was soothing, the gesture starting to become familiar between them. Lashes fell low but neither really closed their eyes as their lips brushed in a motion that could barely be called a kiss. “Playing Alpha with you has been something I've wanted for a very, _very_ long time and if I make you feel a fraction of what I made _Gavin_ feel-” His voice threatened to crack on the Omegas name, “-then I deserve to be locked up because that was _wrong_ and I'll never stop being sick over it.”

 

“Michael,” the use of his first name made the man suck in a quick breath. “This is spontaneous, game-changing, life-saving, super hot and filthy at-work sex. I feel like a whore standing here in my own office in just _these_.” He gestured at his underwear. “And you're trying to fucking ruin it by second guessing me every step of the way. We just talked about all this. What the hell?”

 

“This is important, Joel.”

 

“You're God damn right it's important,” the older Alpha struggled to keep his voice steady, lust wavering under an uprising swell of insecurity. “It's been twenty years of uncertainty and false hope and total bullshit and here I am, fucking ready and _really_ exposed, and you're trying to talk you're way out of it. I want to do this right here, right now, because you might not want me later and I can't lose this chance.”

 

Joel looked away, refusing to let himself cry over something so stupid. He contemplating grabbing his clothes and calling the whole thing off, resign himself to being alone forever, when Burnie wrapped him up in a hug. The older Alpha made a primal sound of relief and tucked into him, wrapping his arms around his neck and butting his forehead into the man's collarbone like he wanted to burrow into him. His bare body felt covered, protected. For the first time in a long time, Burnie's scent was clearer, some of the overpowered sour edge leaving to round it out again. He was pushed up against the desk, almost sitting on the edge, and he loved it. Burnie was _thick_ from arms to thighs and everything in between and he'd gained that extra height since college and it was _good_. Even after losing weight he still had a bearish, cuddliness to him and it made Joel want to hide in his embrace forever. This was a body that could comfort him, but it was also one who could manhandle him. Hold him down, overpower him, force him to submit in the way he'd been yearning for. He wouldn't stop a bite, he would go all the way. He promised he would.

 

“Don't ever think I don't want you,” Burnie whispered along the shell of his ear. “If you want me to fuck you over your own desk then I'll fucking do it and I'll love every moment of it. But I'm taking you home tonight and we're going to do it all over again in _my_ bed. Understood?

 

Joel let out a humiliating whine and nodded. His head was picked up, their lips brushing, and then he saw how dark his best friend's eyes were.

 

“Condom?”

 

“Don't need one,” Joel swallowed heavily. “Don't want one.”

 

Burnie frowned again. “I...I haven't been real safe the past couple months. I didn't care, but now...Joel, I don't want to give you anything.”

 

“I'll consider it the price we'll pay,” Joel stole another kiss to try and wipe the sour look off the man's face. “You for Gavin, and me for...for falling for my best friend.”

 

“I'm serious.”

 

“So am I!” Joel snapped. “You think I want the potential to ruin everything? What's one more thing, Burns? How could getting the clap or whatever fuck things up anymore than I can do by myself?”

 

Burnie closed his eyes and took a deep breath and when he opened them his determination was back. He started to take off his shirt but Joel slapped his hands away. “Keep your clothes on.”

 

“Fuck,” the other man exclaimed, whatever arousal that had faded before between them reigniting in an instant. “You know I care about you, right?”

 

Joel whispered _yes_ against his lips as they took one long, last tender kiss. “Now bite me and make me forget about everyone else in this office.”

 

o0o

 

Joel's world came back into focus low and slow, soft and fuzzy around the edges but sharpening as his mind tried to solidify itself from the liquid mess the other Alpha had turned it into. The deep bite on the left curve of his neck was throbbing with every other quick beat of his heart. The slutty moans in his ears were really fucking sexy until he realized they were spilling out of his own mouth, but even then they put some fire in his veins. Everything was so hot and tingly. He was face down over the desk bracing himself on his elbows, Burnie's teeth putting more marks across his shoulder blades and the line of his spine. A hand was splayed across his heaving chest and and the tender ache in his nipples told him they must've been abused while he was free floating. The man's other hand was shoved down the front of his panties to wrap around his cock. He didn't need to pump because Joel was mindlessly fucking into his fist.

 

That bite had knocked him out of his own head for a few seconds. He would've panicked but all he could smell and feel was Burnie and it soothed any ruffled feathers real quick.

 

Burnie covered him, kissing below his ear. “There you are, J. I thought I'd lost you already. You go under quick, I'll have to remember that.”

 

Joel stared down at his hands, trying to think past the pure bliss of his cockhead rutting along every ridge of the man's fingers with each thrust. Sub-drop...it was a common phrase with Omegas, the ones with more sensitive grounding spots than others. The ones with keen noses who got scent drunk after just a few minutes of clinging on to their chosen Alphas. It was for a much younger crowd, the act more suited to cute twinks like Michael or Ray. He'd given the gift to several Omegas himself but to have it done to him...he'd never expected it to be like that. So peaceful, with vague details and nothing but good feelings to fill in the gaps. It had only been a minute or two but it had put him in a nice headspace and he was more amped than before. He was getting everything he ever wanted and it already felt better than his last dozen partners.

 

“You were so ready,” Burnie purred, thumb dragging hard along the bottom of the other man's cock. “I'm glad it was me who came along. If Haywood had gotten his hands on you I would've torn him apart. This is just for me.”

 

Joel moaned as small nips started landing along pressure points he didn't even know he had, the fingers that had been teasing over his nipple crept up his throat. Burnie's paw was large enough that he could press his thumb and index finger tight against the feel-good glands hidden under his skin and press down on his pulse and the edge of the almost-bloody bite on his neck. He could almost feel the firing of synapses that sent a dizzying rush of endorphins through his system. His head hit Burnie's shoulder, back arching while his hips were practically pinned to the desk. He was forced to move by the power of the Alpha grinding into him and it was _intense._ It was a possessive gesture that gave him that “going under” feeling again. He didn't lose touch this time, at least, but it was close.

 

“You're okay, aren't you?”

 

Joel nodded as best he could with the man holding him tight.

 

“I can tell.” Joel was stroked from root to tip, hips rolling into the sensation. Then the hand was gone and after a few moments something hot pressed against him. He didn't have to look to figure out it was the Alpha's cock, the distinctive shape of it sliding suggestively against his panties and between the cheeks of his ass. The material yielded under the weight of the engorged flesh. Overcome with the urge, he let go of the desk and reached back to take it in hand.

 

“Fuck, Burnie.” Joel chomped down on the side of his lip as heat filled up his cheeks. It was thicker than his own and _damn_ heavy, one full stroke told him that it curved up a bit at the tip and he could only imagine how that would feel inside him. It would hook on his prostate with every thrust, there was no doubt in his mind.

 

Burnie nipped at his ear. “Shame I have to take these off you. Now get your hand off my dick and give me that lube.”

 

“Next time I'll wear a thong and you can just push it aside,” Joel teased breathlessly, obeying and passing back the bottle. He got a sharp smack on the meat of his ass for the comment and a request for another sat at the tip of his tongue.

 

“Stay still.”

 

Joel wiggled just to be disobedient as the man hooked a finger in each side of the delicate material and pulled it down his legs, surprisingly sweet kisses peppered across his thighs and the back of his knees as he did it. They were kicked away and just like that he was completely naked. When Burnie pressed up against him this time the denim rasped against his ass and the damp tip of the other man's cock smeared across his skin. _His dick's barely out. That shouldn't be so fucking hot._

 

There was a low whistle along with the slick sound of lube pouring over fingers. “This is the good, expensive stuff. Have you used this kind yet?”

 

Joel spread his legs, feeling brash. “Mmhm. Thinking about you doing it. Opened real easy with those nice thoughts, boss.”

 

Teeth teased over the bite mark and it made goosebumps break over along his shoulder. This was what he'd been craving all these years. All that romping around with Betas and fawning over Omegas hadn't been nearly as good as this – the stench of virile Alpha hormones, the attraction between them down to it's rawest form. This wasn't prey behind him, this was a fellow predator. Someone who wouldn't take his shit. Someone who was going to knot him to completely that no one in the building would be able to deny who he belonged to. No one fucked with an Alpha's mate and he was going to enjoy putting down the punks in the office who would try to badmouth them.

 

The first finger was easy. He panted and dropped to his elbows again, canting his hips up to give the man full access. It was worth it for Burnie's murmured _good boy_ and the smooth slide of a second finger, the other Alpha going as slow as he had the first night he'd done this to himself. It was so much better without that awful feedback sensation of feeling the hot clutch of his own body. Instead it was just _thick_ and _full_. His bottle of _Subire_ at home was more than half gone, he was used to this, just not it being nearly as amazing. He was so pissed it took him twenty years after popping his knot to realize getting stretched open was fan-fucking-tastic.

 

“God, we should've done this forever ago,” Burnie puffed against his shoulder, and when he glanced back he saw that the other was watching his fingers slide into his ass with dark-eyed fascination. “You want a third?”

 

“God yes,” he breathed out. He'd never taken three but he wanted it.

 

“Then touch yourself nice and slow for me.”

 

Joel shifted his weight and dropped a hand down between his legs, hissing as he took himself in hand. He was practically dripping from all the foreplay, still hard despite the growing ache in his gut from being stretched open in a way his body wasn't made for. But Burnie was generous with the silky lube and it was at a pace he could get used to. The other Alpha was reading him with all the experience of a lifetime sleeping with other people had afforded him. There were a few deep pumps that he could feel right down to his bones before a third finger slid in and forced him wide. He lowered his head down onto his arm and breathed as he worked through the pain. At least he wouldn't be getting off too quickly.

 

A large, Alpha hand curled over his own hand along his cock. Together they pumped him harder, tan fingers tangling up with pale ones to wring out pleasure to wipe out the discomfort. He huffed out Burnie's name under his breath like a prayer when the man brushed his prostate, that gland still just as hypersensitive as the night he'd found it himself. It was wired to every hot spot in his body, little bolts of electricity jumping to the bite on his neck to the nodes under his jaw down to his nipples and cock in one big loop that had him moaning almost continuously.

 

“You like the stretch of my fingers?” Burnie curled the digits in a way that made his hips jerk forward, pleasure stinging straight through his stomach. The other man's thick cock dragged against the bottom of his ass in search of friction. “Imagine how _this_ is going to feel.”

 

Joel whined when the fingers suddenly pulled out but after a few moments they returned slicker than before, the slide easier. He bore down on them and his jaw dropped. He thought he had wanted it before – now, it was a burning desire. This couldn't be the last time, he wouldn't let it.

 

“You gonna' let me suck you first?” Joel cast a look over his shoulder, moaning through the last word as the other flicked hard over his prostate. _How the hell am I going to do anything but lay in bed with his cock up my ass after this? This is some addictive shit._

 

“Tonight,” Burnie bit the word into the nape of his neck.

 

Another scrape along his sweet spot and he smacked his fist onto the table. “God damn it, just fuck me already.”

 

“Ooh, look at you,” Burnie hummed, slipping his fingers in deeper. “Patience. I'm going to have you begging for my knot...like you aren't already. Your body's practically dragging me in. I'm going to have no problem filling you up.”

 

“I-I want it,” Joel confessed quietly, uncertainty tainting the bliss for a second, “Will it fit?”

 

“Alphas have been knotting Alphas since the beginning, J. _This_ could've been buried in Haywood if you had tried a little harder.” Burnie's fingers left his own to trail down to the firmer, more calloused flesh that laid over where his own knot was. The younger man's thumb rubbed hard and it swelled a bit under his touch. The sensation was always like a fish hook snagging behind his belly button, a sharp pressure that was linked directly to the head of his cock and always made him sort of breathless. He wouldn't be spilling his seed anywhere but the front of his desk and all over his thighs but his anatomy didn't know that. As far as it was concerned he was about to rut and breed a mate.

 

The fingers inside him spread wide, forcing him as open as they could. He squeaked and got sharp bite to the top of his shoulder and a squeeze to his growing knot. “I know you don't get all wet and loose like a supple little bitch but I can take care of you just as well as any Omega. It's going to hurt, I won't lie to you. But I'll make it worth it. You're going to be ruined for anyone else.”

 

The filthy words seemed to hit him straight in the balls, making him draw up tight to his body and precum to bead at his slit. The moment he started to fist his cock like he really meant it his hand was grabbed and slapped down on the table. An instinct he wasn't sure he was supposed to have took over and Joel bent further over his cleared off desk, chest laying flat on the cool surface. He hissed as his finger-bruised nipples felt the chill but it wasn't unpleasant. He spread his legs wider and pushed his ass up, curling an arm beneath his his head to cushion his cheek as he rested it there. He got as comfortable as he could and felt himself fluttering around Burnie's fingers with each shift.

 

“You were made for me to have you like this.” The Alpha slid out of him much more slowly this time. Joel watched as the other coated his cock in the shining substance, heart beating like a jack rabbit behind his ribs from the size and gleam. He could feel beads of sweat lazily rolling down his spine and beading along his forehead, his chest, his thighs. He raked hair out of his eyes and felt the moisture there clumping up the strands. He must've looked a mess but Burnie seemed to love it with the way his eyes were eating him up as he stroked himself in an idle, slow motion as if he were savoring the sight.

 

Joel shot him a cocky look and gave him something to stare at, moving his hips back until the head of the other's cock kissed the wet mouth of his hole. “Please, Burnie?”

 

He was relieved when Burnie didn't ask him if he was alright or sure about this. He wasn't sure if he could handle any hesitation on the other man's part because he wanted this to be real so badly – he wanted to be wanted with the same intensity that was driving up his heart rate and making his cock drip and his belly flop. A palm laid in the dip of his back and pressed insistently, keeping him flat over the desk and his hips down.

 

Burnie kissed between his shoulder blades, tongue darting out to taste the salt of his sweat. “Stay calm. It'll hurt at first but just concentrate on me, alright? I'm not exactly packing a monster cock or anything but wait until you get used to it before you start squirming around.”

 

“Quit talking to me like a virgin,” Joel groused impatiently.

 

Burnie's smirk was sharp. “But you are. At least, you _were_.”

 

Even with all the lube and stretching, the tip of the man's cock felt like a fist at first. But Burnie went slow despite his sinful words and both their blown up libidos. He rocked into him in deliberately careful motions, easing in just a tiny bit more with each pass. When head head popped in he cried out in surprise more than anything else as his rim caught under the heavy ridge of the tip. He was hushed at first, wide palms petting over his skin and down his back, but as he started to sink deeper the sound changed to a soothing Alpha purr that rumbled deep in the man's chest. The faint vibrations sunk into Joel's skin and his body obeyed the unspoken command to relax. He answered the primal call with one of his own but it didn't sound like him. The purr building up inside the cage of his ribs was soft and sweet to show the other Alpha he was alright, that he could take it.

 

Burnie stopped every inch or when the other grimaced, keeping his thrusts shallow and controlled for the moment as he gently forced the body beneath him to open up. Joel just kept breathing and lightly palmed his cock as the uncomfortable stretch and pain of yielding gradually turned hot trembles of pleasure. It felt like a throb deep inside him but in a good way. Halfway through, Burnie recoated his cock with the expensive slick and slid back in.

 

Joel found he'd been right about the curve because it clipped right across his prostate and made him claw at the desk. But it was nothing compared to when the Alpha bottomed out inside him.

 

“Fucking shit,” Joel cursed, hand flailing back to slap down on the man's hip and _grip_. “Oh fuck, Burnie, Jesus Christ, it's...fuck, it's so _good_.”

 

“You should be on my end, you feel so fucking good,” Burnie was flush up behind him, not moving yet but dropping more bites across whatever pale skin his teeth could find. “Tight and wet. I'm so glad you're an Alpha, J. Wouldn't want you any other way.”

 

Joel gave a happy chirp, the kind that sweet Omega mates did when they were happy. He didn't know how or why but it felt right and it made Burnie nuzzle the back of his neck.

 

“If you could see how you look,” he lamented, hands roaming as freely as his teeth had to leave red stripes from the blunt edges of his nails, “Beautiful, and fucking filthy.”

 

“Burnie,” Joel whined, burying his face in the back of his fist. The words were really getting to him and he would've blown his load already if his hole wasn't aching so badly from his first attempt at taking cock. Half of him wished he had listened to Burnie and waited until they had a proper bed to fuck on, but he didn't want to be anywhere else right now. This was dangerous and deviant, possibly humiliating and _agonizingly_ good.

 

“You do,” Burnie chuckled but the sound was strained, cock twitching hard inside him. “Letting another, younger Alpha bend you over your own desk, in your own office. I messed up your work space. Just look at all the things you'll have to pick up on your hands and knees with your sweet ass aching and still full of my cum.” Joel made a pathetically soft sound when his hair was grabbed and he was forced to look at the stuff scattered on the floor that had once been on his desk. “You're letting me dominate you in every way you can think of. That's more than dynamics, J, that's real sub behavior. I think you want more than an Alpha.”

 

Joel practically writhed underneath the man as the hot flesh around his bite mark was nipped and licked, leaving more little pinprick bruises that he'll admire tomorrow in the mirror.

 

“I think you want someone to take care of you.” The accusation was tender and the words practically melted into his flesh. “You want to be so strong and the center of everyone's attention but you want someone stronger at your back. Is that what you want, J?”

 

Joel had to swallow a few times before his voice came back to him, “I'm not calling you 'daddy'.”

 

Instead of laughing or giving him another warning bite, Burnie started thrusting. It was smooth and easy with all the fake-slick between them, the younger Alpha's cockhead sliding perfectly against his sweet spot every other stroke or so. It was just a dull throb at first but the buzz of true pleasure came in waves, building up between his thighs so subtle that he didn't realize why he was slack-jawed and moaning at first. There were a few thrusts that he thought would crack his hips apart but then Burnie would kiss his jaw or give his cock a pump and it would be forgotten. The smack of the younger Alpha's flesh against his own fill the room along with the mix of their scents.

 

_Musk. Sweat. Sun-baked plastic and paper soaked in spice._

 

It was all the archaic rhythm of slide-and-fuck until Joel felt something tug at his rim. His eyes snapped open and he braced hand on the edge of the desk, using it for leverage to push back for more.

 

“Are you sure you still want me to knot you?” Burnie panted into his hair, his thrusts growing more shallow as his knot started to fatten up. “We don't have to.”

 

“I-I...” Joel stuttered out, shaking his head to try and clear some of the serene fog that had clogged it up. “I can barely think right now. Just fucking do it or I'll flip you over and knot _you_ instead. Or maybe I'll go get Ryan and he can finish the job.”

 

That got a snarl out of the Alpha. “I'd like to see you try either, Heyman.”

 

Joel grinned to himself as Burnie picked up the pace, driving himself to the edge as that rougher skin so close to the bottom of his cock started to grow harder. Knots were solid and rough on almost every Alpha no matter the size, sitting an inch or two above the base so the hole they would drive into would clutch at the bottom of them to keep two partners tied together. Once their bodies tapered past a fully-formed knot there was no pulling it out without tearing or serious pain.

 

Joel knew all this from experience and basic anatomy classes but it didn't change the way he had to muffle a scream when Burnie sank all the way inside him. The knot was swelling up quickly and was fueled by every deep grind of the Alpha's hips, instincts driving him to bury his seed inside the body he was fucking. But Joel had just gotten used to the man's cock and this new, growing girth was quickly becoming too much. He didn't want to back out but his eyes were starting to sting and his thighs were shaking from the sharp shocks dancing down them.

 

“I know, baby, I know,” Burnie cooed in his ear, finally taking the older Alpha's cock into his own hand. “It'll hurt now and later. Let me make you come. It'll be so much better.”

 

Joel nodded tightly, holding his breath as his friend worked his hard flesh like it was his own. A twist at the top on each stroke and a squeeze at the base each time, thumb occasionally grazing the tip to smear around the wetness there. It was a good distraction but with the way the Alpha's cock was pressed _so close_ to his prostate it was quickly becoming more than that. Burnie didn't pull out anymore but he did hump into him, dragging the older Alpha's cock through the ring of his fingers with each motion.

 

“I'm all the way inside you, J. Can you feel it? I'm going to fill you up real deep just like you wanted. No one's ever going to do it for you again, baby.”

 

As Joel let out the breath he'd restrained, liquid warmth washed through his belly and spilled down through his groin and thighs. He groaned into his hand as he spilled thickly over Burnie's hand, spurts landing on the side of the desk and dripping onto the carpet. He clenched around the still-growing knot inside him and it was – “ _Ah_ ,” – perfection. It was more satisfying than any wet, clutching cunt or tight little ass or hot mouth because it was _Burnie_. His best friend, his (practically) life-long crush, was filling him to the point of breaking. He felt claimed and bred, and before Burnie had shown him real interest he would've never believed that the feeling was one of the best he'd ever had. The man grunted behind him, the phrase ' _God, Joel'_ getting pulled from between his teeth all sharp and curt like a declaration. Burnie's knot was as full as it was going to get and he came while was still mid-orgasm. The sensation was faint, just warm little pulses, but the new slickness and the way he couldn't pull out took it to a whole new level of intimacy that he felt deeper than flesh.

 

And then it was agony.

 

While the other Alpha was still emptying inside him, the brief euphoric state faded away and he was left bursting at the seams. The discomfort came back all at once and though he felt loopy and limp from orgasm he was still stretched far past his limit with the knot just within his rim and his cock barely softening inside him. He didn't regret it, not for a second, but he dry sobbed when the pressure became too much and the first twinge of real hurt panged deep in his stomach.

 

Burnie wrapped his arms around Joel and dropped down to his knees, cradling the slighter Alpha in his lap and pressing his cloth-covered chest to his slick back. He held him sweetly and suckled generous kisses over the harsh marks he'd made. Joel braced his forearms on the desk and dropped his head between them, teeth grit tight as he fought through it.

 

“Joel? Baby?” Burnie husked against his shoulder blade, hands feeling like a balm as he rubbed soothingly along his hips and the top of his ass.

 

“I'm okay,” Joel lied, “I-It _hurts_.”

 

The word cracked and the edges bit into his tongue.

 

“I know. You aren't built for a knot but look how much you took. It'll get smaller in a minute or two. Just bear with me, J. You're doing so well,” Burnie whispered sympathetically. The way his fingers massaged the muscles in his legs and back started to really help but there were still unshed tears. Joel felt speared open and vulnerable, ready to discard. It wasn't something he was used to and he didn't like it. Burnie was trying to drive that uncertainty away but it was slow going.

 

“Michael?”

 

Burnie nosed at the top of his spine. “I'm right here,”

 

“Don't leave me.”

 

The phrase that had hung between them through the years resonated within them, tying them closer together than the knot did. Burnie dug his fingers in deep, soothing circles on the insides of the older man's thighs – down to the knee, then back up to spent cock. “Never.”

 

Joel thunked his head on the desk, sighing. “I feel really raw, man.”

 

Burnie kissed the dark bite mark, knowing that it would only get darker before the night was over. “How about this? Once my knot goes down I'll carry you over to the couch and we can take a nap?”

 

Joel chuckled feebly. “You can't carry me.”

 

“Watch me,” Burnie threatened. “I'll wrap you up and you can sleep it off.”

 

He glanced at the thick blanket folded over the back of the couch and shivered as he thought of Burnie's chest under his cheek and the blanket rubbing up against his bare skin. “I don't need to nest. I'm not an Omega, even if you've knotted me up like one.”

 

He rocked down and made Burnie groan and spurt again, seed still warm within him. That made him feel better. Joel may have not been able to get off again like over-sensitive Omegas sometimes could but he could milk the Alpha inside him and turn him into the same wreck he was.

 

After almost thirty minutes of scenting and cooing to each other, Burnie's knot went down and (true to his word) he carried his friend over to the couch. Tylenol was forced down Joel's throat and a pack of wet wipes were cracked open to clean up the sticky mess between them, including the thick dribble of cum running down a pale thigh. The older Alpha made little sounds of protested but they were quieted so that he could be taken care of. Joel stayed naked and Burnie stripped off his sweat-stained clothes to change into one of their softer merch shirts and a spare pair of sweatpants that had been hidden away in a cabinet. Joel was swaddled up and, even though the furniture was a bit too small for two grown men to lay comfortably, Burnie took the outside and snuggled the other up against the back of the couch. It felt like something a ferret or another warm blooded animal would make – a nest for the two of them. They stank like sex and exertion but neither cared as they brushed their noses together before tucking faces into each other's throats.

 

They didn't even bother to turn the light off and they fell asleep within minutes.

 

o0o

 

Much later that night they were in almost the same position but on Burnie's bed after taking turns getting up close and personal with each other's bodies. They kissed with the taste of one another on the back of their tongues, Joel decorated in a slew of marks and Burnie sporting a few fresh ones himself. They tested gag reflexes and the sharpness of canines but thankfully not at the same time. The roller coaster of a day had caught up to them and they were beyond exhausted.

 

“Why did this take us so long again?” Burnie asked, voice light and airy as he played with the other's dark tresses. Joel was resting on his chest and made a noncommittal noise, his own fingers tangled in the younger Alpha's chest hair. He was minutes from falling asleep.

 

“Ruined bond, bad hormones, fear – take your pick.”

 

“I should've picked you instead of her. I should've never let you walk away,” Burnie mused at the ceiling, getting a swat to the chest. “Ow. What?”

 

“Don't say shit like that,” Joel scolded. “We had good lives. Even if you ended up a little...off balance.”

 

Burnie tucked an arm under his head. “Just call it what it is – I'm crazy.”

 

“You're _not_ crazy.”

 

The venom in the younger Alpha's voice made him shut his mouth about the sensitive subject. Instead he laid his other hand along the man's back and thumb across one of his many bite marks. “So, are we going to do this all the time now?”

 

Joel heaved himself up on his elbows and looked down at the Alpha, brow kind of pinched. “Do you want to do this all the time?”

 

Burnie nodded quickly.

  
He dropped a kiss on his lips, just for a second, so chaste it made them both smile. “Then hell yeah we're doing it all the time.”

 

“Thank God. I thought I was going to have to lock you up in the sex dungeon,” Burnie teased.

 

“Yeah, yeah,” Joel flopped back down, dragging the blanket up to cover the both of them, “We're trying that knotting thing again next week. The spirit is willing but the flesh is spongy and weak.”

 

“I'll hold you to that.”

 

“I know you will.”

 

* * *

 

**So, I have a lot of thanks to give. My birthday gifts from you guys were - in a word - AMAZING.  
**

**Thank you echoandbandit and therealkdinjenzen for the emotional/lovely and sexy/fun drawings (respectively). The fact that you guys took that much time out of your day to do that for me is mind-blowing.**   
  
**A big special thanks to MXD (you saucy minx), dreamwrote, tugavin, and thestylinsoncrew for writing _so much._ They went the extra mile and I was blundered over by them. They were hot and steamy and you went the extra mile and I applaud you.**

**Big high-five to scottysamplenacellas for being the very first to send me a smutty snippet.**

**And just a big group hug for everyone who sent me anything. I was touched and happy, warm and fuzzy in the heart. I have lots of new ideas.**

**As always, my bois. Most of this incredible dialogue is from them.**

**Finally - we'll find out exactly what Burnie did in a later chapter (soon)**


	56. Geoff, Michael, and Gavin - Courting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Geoff and Michael properly court Gavin, and it's fluffy as dicks.
> 
> -
> 
> “Who cares what they think, Gav?” Geoff took his hand and kissed the back of it. “We’re courting now. And if we do a good job, you’ll be with us – officially. We talked about this.”

**This is the courting chapter of Geoff/Michael/Gavin. This happens after the meeting where they were scenting (if you cant remember that from 5-7 chapters ago.) They've got their shit together, they're courting, and they're not fucking yet. _HERE_ \- we go.**

 

* * *

 

“Gavin.”

 

It was the third time Geoff had said his name in that calm, exasperated voice but it didn’t do anything but make the Brit curl tighter on himself in the front seat. Geoff had one arm braced on top of the car and the other holding the door wide open, head ducked to watch the Omega draw his knees up and frown down at them. Michael sighed behind him, both his and Gavin’s bags on his shoulders.

 

“We have to go to work,” Geoff stated as patiently as he could manage without any coffee in him.

 

Gavin’s long fingers flicked at the hem of his shorts. “You saw the way they looked at me after Michael and I left the meeting. They think I’m some bloody slag you two are just mucking about with. I heard one of the animators call me a ‘homewrecker’.”

 

“Which one?” Michael snarled. “I’ll fucking gut them.”

 

“Who cares what they think, Gav?” Geoff took his hand and kissed the back of it. “We’re courting now. And if we do a good job, you’ll be with us – officially. We talked about this.”

 

“I just don’t like it, alright?” Gavin huffed.

 

Geoff smiled sympathetically. “I know you don’t, but we’re gonna’ be with you all day. No one’s going to say anything.”

 

Gavin slowly lowered his feet to the floor. “It’s not normal, is it? _This_. The three of us.”

 

“Is it normal over in England?”

 

The Brit shook his head.

 

“Well fuck here and fuck there, because back in Jersey people practically run around in threes and fours,” Michael assured him with a flippant tone. “Not as bad as Appalachia where they practically herd in orgies, but polyamory isn’t so rare on the coast. Something in the water, I guess.”

 

“They didn’t do it a lot in Alabama, but in Florida it seemed like it was fair game. You weren’t really an Alpha unless you had at least two Omegas on your arms. Even Betas got into it,” Geoff added, tugging on the younger man’s hand to try and ease him out of the car. “So let’s go to work and not give a fuck about it, okay?”

 

“Okay,” Gavin mumbled, stepping out of the car.

 

Michael handed him his bag. “And if anyone says anything to you, I’ll bunch ‘em square in the nuts, alright?”

 

That made the other Omega crack a smile. “Yeah, alright.”

 

o0o0o0o

 

Geoff declared Saturday “Bevs and Swimmy Day” and invited a lot of their friends over for a big hang out party. Ray had come with Ryan but the moment he realized just how many people there were around the pool he bolted like a startled rabbit, and the Alpha had followed with a brief apology and a promise to bring the boy back tomorrow for leftovers and video games. Shirts were shed and beer flowed, two Xbox’s and two TV’s were set up in the living room, and the pool was alight with laughter. Miles sunbathed with Arryn’s careful eye on him and Kerry joined him, winking and blowing kisses at the female Alpha while he rubbed sunscreen on his friend’s back. It was a surprise to have Lindsay show up with Adam and his wife but no one made a comment under her fierce glare.

 

“You have to score the meat first.”

 

“I have to _what_?”

 

“Score. You have to make thin slices along the outside so the marinade can sink in. Here, let me show you. No, give me the knife, no – _Gavin_ – careful. Give it.”

 

Gavin pouted and let the Alpha run quick, medium-deep stripes across the steaks laid out on the cutting board in front of them. He had never been asked to cook before and he was eager to prove he knew what he was doing but it was quickly becoming clear he didn’t have the first clue. After living on the Ramsay compound of nearly three years, he was still clueless when it came to Geoff’s fantastic cooking. He made everything look so easy and it was intimidating.

 

“No frowning,” Geoff ordered, shedding his bloody gloves before pouring out a shot of golden liquor. “This is a no-frowning day. Drink up.”

 

Gavin positively fluttered when the Alpha carded his fingers through the back of his hair and held him steady as the shot glass was put to his lips. He took it with a heavy grimace but the thumb that brushed across his wet lips and the fingernails that scratched across his scalp made it worth it.

 

“Put on some gloves, it’s your turn.”

 

Gavin slowly but surely started going down the line of almost a dozen cuts, scoring the front and back of each piece as carefully as he could. About halfway through, Geoff pressed up close behind him and wrapped his waist up in a warm hug.

 

“Good boy,” the Alpha hummed softly in approval as he watched him work.

 

Gavin smiled like a loon as Geoff pressed tiny little kisses across the back of his neck and shoulder through his shirt. With the Alpha whispering instructions in his ear, Gavin loaded each steak in its own Ziploc bag and poured out a cup of marinade from the gallon jug for each. He double checked each seal before stacking them up on the counter.

 

“Perfect,” Geoff approved happily, “They have to sit for a while.”

 

“How long?”

 

He got a peck on the cheek and a grin. “Doesn’t matter. Why don’t you go play _Mario Kart_ with Michael? I’m sure he’s angry that he’s losing by now. You know he gets worse the drunker he is.”

 

Gavin was sent off with a quick smack to the ass and a pleasantly buzzing heart. Geoff had been much more tactile since they declared they were courting him and he was enjoying it more than was appropriate. It reminded him of the time before Michael when he would crawl into bed with the Alpha and steal sweet kisses early in the morning or during work when no one was around. But this was so much better because now it was more than platonic. Earlier, when Geoff had been in the middle of the story with a bunch of the guys around him, Gavin had walked past and the Alpha had snatched him around the middle and planted a kiss on him right then and there. It wasn't like the time before during the Wink game. This was real and unprovoked and so casual that it made his heart titter. All of those raw feelings of  _Alpha_ came to the surface and smothered him in the best way.

 

But it wasn't just Geoff - Michael with them so it was ten times better than just the two of them. Every since he’d seen the couple together he’d known they’d belonged with one another. It was just that he didn’t realize he belonged there too.

 

“There’s my boy!” Michael declared loudly once he got to the living room. A couple of their friends snickered but the Omega snapped at them to shut the fuck up. “Get your ass over here. Play for me while I finish my beer?”

 

“ ‘Course, boy.” Gavin walked over and took the controller out of the older Omega’s hands. He was about to plop down on the couch beside Barbara but Michael grabbed him by the belt and dragged him down onto his lap. “Michael!”

 

“The race is starting, asshole, chill out.”

 

The screen counted down and Gavin tried to concentrate on getting Mario ahead of the others but it was hard when his boy’s sneaky hands crept under his shirt. Michael’s fingers laced together over the warm plane of his stomach and his nose brushed his spine, the other Omega’s wider hips and plush thighs making the best human seat. Barbara gave a suggestive ‘meow’ and Blaine wolf whistled but Michael didn’t make a move to let the Omega go.

 

Gavin blushed and wiggled deeper into his boy’s lap, more determined than ever to whoop the others in the game.

 

o0o

 

At the end of the day when everyone was leaving, it was Caiti who pulled Gavin to the side and kissed his cheek. “I’m so happy you guys found each other. You look amazing together.”

 

Gavin carried that thought with him as he helped Geoff clean up trashed house. Michael stayed at his hip, bitching and whining about the whole thing as he helped wipe up stray spills of beer and pick up paper plates. Geoff hadn’t so much as ordered them to help as much as he’d just heavily suggested that if they clean they can pick the games they’d play tomorrow with Ryan and Ray. And that if they finished within the hour they would each get a special advantage in the next _Minecraft Let’s Play_. They felt like school boys grinning and rushing around to toss things in garbage bags and move furniture back to their previous spots.

 

They just hit the deadline and got matching, scratchy cheek kisses for their hard work and some of the really good chocolate Geoff had stashed away on his last trip overseas.

 

Tearing apart at the end of the night was hard. Gavin lingered by the door to the garage, rubbing at the back of his neck and chewing his bottom lip. The couple exchanged a look.

 

“Do you mind if we…?”

 

Gavin quickly shook his head.

 

Michael stepped up first, curling his fingers in the other Omega’s belt like he had earlier and pulling him in for a kiss. Michael’s lips were always so full and pink but they were soft too, dampened by his tongue and smooth as they slid across Gavin’s own. It was a loving exchange. The more time he spent alone with Michael the more he realized that under all that temper and bluster was a big heart. Even if he was a little rougher with lust in his veins, in these simple moments he was just like a teddy bear, all cuddles and light touches and quiet whispers. If he’d been uncertain of his feelings before, Gavin was dead sure that he was in love with the other Omega now.

 

When Michael pulled away, Geoff quickly took his place and tucked the bend of his finger under the Brit’s chin. Gavin whined as his mouth was taken in a firmer, more demanding kiss. He swayed into him, giving in like he always did, and got a light scratch behind his ear as a reward. When they pulled away he was a little dazed and grinning like an idiot but the other two didn’t look much different so he didn’t feel foolish.

 

“Night, lads.”

 

Michael started backing up, reluctance weighing each step. “Night, boy.”

 

o0o

 

Gavin yawned, only half asleep as the bed dipped and Geoff’s scent filled the air. His comforter was pulled away and a slightly thinner, smaller blanket was draped over his chest along with a pale, tattooed arm. The threads were saturated in his Alpha’s smell and ginger curls tickled his stubbled chin as the other Omega practically threw himself across him. It was an aggressive snuggle and the wash of the couples combined scent made him melt into the bed. _Warm cherries. Bloody amazing._ It was Michael and he was down to his boxers just like himself and heat of his body was filling up whatever the blanket couldn't preserve.

 

“Michael?”

 

Dark hazel eyes blinked up at him with an almost kittenish innocence. “Go back to sleep, asshole.”

 

“What’s goin’ on?”

 

Michael rolled his head before rubbing his cheek against the hair on the Brit’s chest and tugging the blanket up over both of them. “I want to sleep in here. Wanna’ fight about it?”

 

Gavin chirped high in his throat and hugged him back, his boy’s shoulder blades unbelievably smooth under his palms. He scented the other’s fragrant hair and sighed happily when Michael lazily kissed at his chest. After a while their breathing started to even out, fingers going limp and mouths dropping open as sleep overtook them.

 

o0o0o0o

 

That tame, downy side of Michael that started to emerge while they were together had a squishy, Romantic center. Gavin almost didn't notice it at first because it was just a bunch of tiny things at first. Michael would bring back extra food when he went out to lunch without him. Ice cold sodas and candy bars showed up on his desk when he returned from bathroom breaks. The Omega would hold open the door for him and would make a point to slam it on anyone else trying to get through with a declaration that he wasn't a fucking doorman. He even bought Gavin's favorite hair gel the day after he ran out and had to go to work with a flat do, presenting it to him with a forced nonchalance. 

 

After Ryan stepped up his game and left a fresh rose on Ray's desk, Michael got all huffy and jealous and moped around the office for the rest of the day.

 

The next morning, Gavin came in to work late via his bike and found a small bundle of ginger lilies on his desk, the red blooms peaking out of crisp white tissue paper. The others in the AH office just grinned at him and didn't say a word while he admired them, their subtle scent. It turned kind of warm in his nose and he liked it so much he cleared off a spot on his desk for them. Michael returned thirty minutes later. He was flushed in embarrassment and had clearly been hiding somewhere in the office while he'd waited on the Brit to show up. The rim of his hat was pulled low on his brow and his eyes stayed on the floor.

 

“Michael,” Gavin cooed, perching himself across the Jersey boy's lap so he had to pay attention to him. But his boy was determined to keep his head down. He bussed their noses and pinched the Omega's red cheek. “Thank you, Michael.”

 

“Don't say I never gave you anything, asshole,” Michael muttered, hand laying securely across the base of the other Omega's back in an subconscious urge to keep him steady.

 

Gavin pressed his lips to his boy's ear. “They're lovely.”

 

The blush only deepened.

 

o0o0o0o

 

“Fuck! Motherfucking Jesus shit!” Michael shouted, tossing the Xbox controller up in the air and slapping his hands over his face. His glasses got knocked onto the floor but he was too busy putting spots behind his eyelids. “You stupid idiot.”

 

Gavin pouted at the screen where they had a versus going for Mario Kart. “That peel came out of nowhere.”

 

The rest of the crew whooped Michael's victory but it was nearly drowned out by the Omega's growling. “Looks like Michael is our winner!”

 

“You're so stupid,” the Omega bitched.

 

“I tried!”

 

“Barely!”

 

Gavin frowned. “But I _did_ , Michael. Why are you so ruffled? You won!”

 

“I was trying to lose!” The admittance came out like a lead brick and everyone shut their mouths. Michael's ears burned. “Stop looking at me like that!”

 

Gavin blinked widely at his friend. “You were trying to lose?”

 

“What a twist,” Ray joked into his mic.

 

“You said you hadn't won in a long time and you felt kind of shit about it,” Michael griped, scratching his fingers through his growing curls. “I was just trying to – I wanted to let – shut the fuck _up_!” The last was aimed at Geoff and Ryan who were snickering behind their hands.

 

“Little Mikey-wikey loves his Gavvy-wavvy,” Jack teased in a sugar-sweet voice, smooching at them. Geoff took a minute to laugh in his Omega's face before he kind of whipped his hand through the air.

 

“Alright, boys, set it back up. None of the mushy stuff in the videos. And for God's sake, Michael, don't try that shit again. Gavin can win on his own merit.”

 

After three rounds of Mario Kart, that was proven _very_ untrue.

 

o0o0o0o

 

Michael loved his independence and refused to move in with Geoff no matter how many times the Alpha suggested it. He went on long tirades about how just because they were mates and Gavin lived with Geoff didn't mean he had to too. He liked to end his rants with a “live in whore” joke and then the topic would change.

 

Despite having his own apartment, Michael left a lot of shit at the Ramsay compound. Before the three of them worked through their shit, the mess was contained to Geoff's bedroom and the living room. But with the fresh courtship and the honeymoon phase renewed it got worse. Spare clothes were stashed in the Alpha's bedroom since the beginning but jackets and hats started getting left in the living room, in the laundry room, on top of the fridge.

 

Gavin liked when his boy would come into his room in the middle of the night and cuddle with him, maybe make out a little, but he started finding clothes too. Socks, a pair of jeans, a watch, old merch shirts were super soft from too many washes, games, a hat or two. The whole house smelled like Geoff right down to the paint and floorboards but Gavin's room started to smell like the other Omega too.

 

One morning Gavin woke up in sluggish stages. The first time it was barely light out and he had Michael snuggled up against his back, almost breathing hard enough to be considered a snore. The second was mid-moan and he was rutting up against a pale thigh while Michael idly chewed at his neck and pumped his morning wood against his hip. It had been so slow and sweet that Gavin had fallen back asleep before anything came of it. The third and last time he had woken up alone with a warm post-orgasmic feeling between his thighs but no sticky mess.

 

He sat up with an embarrassed flush working down to his furry chest. A quick look around showed that Michael's clothes were kicked to the corner of his room. He didn't think about it again until two weeks later where he found them still there and they stank like old cum. He took them to Geoff with a scowl.

 

“What is he doing with all this?” Gavin demanded, dumping them at the Alpha's feet.

 

Geoff didn't take his eyes off the screen, too busy repairing the damage they'd done to Achievement City in the last _Let's Play_. “It's like nesting. He's been doing it since he started staying over and we got serious. Now he's just including your room.”

 

Gavin stared down at the clothes with a new realization. “Hmm. Weird.”

 

“If you want him to stop-”

 

“No!” he shot back too quickly to be casual. He cleared his throat and shifted his weight from one foot to another. “No, it's fine.”

 

o0o0o0o

 

Michael watched Gavin sort of frown over breakfast for weeks before he snapped and decided he wanted to try something different. He sent a few emails and had to casually pump Gavin for information before he managed to get on the phone with Dan. The Brit was still way overseas and it wasn't often he was available for more than a few Skype calls. But luck was on his side and he got a guaranteed ten minutes.

 

“ _Michael_ ,” Dan greeted with very little of the enthusiasm he used to have before he bit the guy.

 

Michael chewed his lip. “Uh, hey Dan. How's the bite?”

 

“ _It scared quite nicely_ ,” the Brit replied gruffly. “ _Is there something I can help you with?_ ”

 

“Jesus, man, alright,” Michael grumbled, wishing not for the first time that he had kept his temper and had just talked to his future mate's best friend instead of freaking out. “Did Gavin tell you we're courting him now all official-like?”

 

“ _Yes, he told me you both got your head out of each other's arse's and did the right thing by him_.” Dan didn't sound too thrilled.

 

“I want to do something nice for him,” Michael stated, kicking at the side of his old couch. “Do you know what his favorite food was over there?”

 

“ _Over where? England?_ ”

 

He tried not to roll his eyes. “Yeah, man.”

 

“ _Why_?”

 

“I think he's homesick and comfort food is the best shit ever,” Michael snapped impatiently. “I just want to make him something he can't get here to be a good boyfriend and shit so could you cooperate with me here? Maybe cut me some slack? I just want to...” He took a deep breath to try and cool his words off. “I want to make him happy. This will make the stupid shit smile so work with me.”

 

“ _B does deserve everything_ ,” Dan sighed with only a little bit of sarcasm. “ _I'll tell you for a favor._ ”

 

“Anything,” he blurted out.

 

“ _I_...” Dan actually hesitated before he blurted out the request in one short breath. “ _I want Ryan's Skype name_.”

 

He frowned. “You what?”

 

“ _I want Ryan's Skype name so I can message him, yeah?_ ” Dan sounded a little flustered.

 

Michael was about to tell the Alpha that Ryan and Ray were dating and if he wanted Ryan's Skype username he should just ask he fresh Omega but decided against it. “Done.”

 

“ _Cheers, Michael_ ,” Dan sighed over the line, a lot more relaxed than before. “ _Get a paper and pen. I'll give you the recipe his mum used. They're better than the ones we used to get in Devon_.”

 

o0o

 

“What the hell is this Michael?” Geoff demanded, waving the recipe around.

 

His Omega crossed his arms over his chest and glared. “I'll get up early and help you make them but I think it would be cool. Dan says he loves 'em, alright? So will you do it or not?”

 

“Of course I will,” Geoff assured him with an edge of irritation. “Fucking currants, though? Where the hell are we going to get them?”

 

Michael snatched his keys off the table, “Come on, asshole. Let's go on a stupid fruit hunt.”

 

o0o

 

Geoff and Michael woke up obscenely early and started mixing up the pastry before Gavin had a chance to wake up. They ruined two batches before they got it right and they came out golden and fluffy and perfect. The Alpha started cooking up bacon and eggs and the smell brought Gavin into the kitchen with just his boxers on. He rubbed the sticky sleep from his eyes and kind of blinked at the plate of rolls in the middle of the table with jam and butter sitting beside it. He sniffed the air before he burst into a toothy grin. He snatched one up and tore into it, inhaling the steam that rose up before taking a greedy bite. The other two men shared a triumphant smirk when their Omega moaned.

 

“Saffron buns,” Gavin spoke around a fat, second bite. “These are better than Mum's, Geoff.”

 

“Your _Micoo_ helped too,” Geoff pointed out, flipping the bacon sizzling in the pan in front of him. “In fact, it was his idea.”

 

Gavin caught the other Omega in a bear hug, picking him up off his feet and spinning him around before planting wet kisses on his forehead and cheeks. “Thank you, Michael.”

 

Michael batted him away. “Yeah, whatever. Eat your stupid rolls.”

 

All the hard work and searching and messy counters were worth it to see Gavin eagerly spread jam all over the bready inside of one of the saffron buns and shovel it into his mouth. He crowed praise and thanks as he tore through the plate with a gusto.

 

“Good job, boy,” Geoff whispered in Michael's ear, rubbing his nose through his Omega's hair.

 

Breakfast had never been so lively.

 

o0o0o0o

 

Rooster Teeth hired three new interns all at once. It wasn’t exactly a rare occurrence but it was kind of joke that they were all boys of every status. It was just a temporary thing from the local college but they were all majoring in animation and computer tech. They all seemed nice enough. Burnie, surprisingly, was the one to pry Chris off the Omega boy when the first whiff of the poor guy’s heat bloomed on skin.

 

The Alpha among them, Zach, seemed tuned in on Gavin's scent since the day he started. At first it was brushed off as being interested in his vast knowledge of the software usually associated with them. But Zach's interest quickly became more than platonic and he wasn't exactly subtle about it. Gavin gave in and eventually asked Zach if he was interested in his scent, and when the Alpha nodded he politely offered his wrist.

 

Gavin tried to ignore it but the young Alpha seemed to find reasons to be in his space, always seeming two seconds away from scenting his hair or reaching out for his hip, his back, once even his ass. The Omega snapped at him and made sure he kept his distance but he was getting tired of doing it every day. Even with Geoff and Michael's smell clinging to him from head to toe and all through his clothes, Zach didn't get the hint that he was taken. The green Alpha was smart enough not to flirt in front of Michael but just dumb enough to ignore Geoff because of his age.

 

He cornered Gavin in the conference room by himself. The Omega swallowed and stared with wide eyes, eyes dancing from the closed door to the curtains that had been closed over the glass walls so he could properly film his dumb vine. Zach had nice eyes, he'd admit that, but they had a dark gleam he didn't like. It reminded him of the Alphas on the metro back in England when he didn't have Dan's protective scent scrubbed into his skin.

 

“I usually don't go for older Omegas,” Zach stated almost thoughtfully, and then he was silent as he stalked around the desk to where Gavin stood with his camera between his hands. The lack of words somehow made it worse. He didn't have height or weight on the Alpha but his rational mind told him that he was fine and nothing would happen to him here at the office. But his skin felt irritated and his nose ached as the smell of the other Alpha's desire filled the room. Under other circumstances it would've been ideal – alone, an Alpha to admire him, no one having a reason to come look for them. A few months ago he would've happily made out with a cute intern in a locked room but he had a mark on his neck from Geoff's sharp canines and that changed everything. He'd gotten the sharp nip after managing to steal almost all of Michael's bacon and had been ordered to make the Omega another batch.  _Neither of my boys are going to work hungry so don't fucking burn it._

 

Zach was getting dangerously closer. Gavin backed himself up on instinct, jolting a little when his back hit the wall. The Alpha wasn't relenting even when his nose twitched as he caught the scent of his two friends hanging around him. He'd told the brat half a dozen times he wasn't interested and the blatant way the boy was ignoring that made him uneasy. He made a tiny distressed sound and pressed himself flat to the cool plaster, wrinkling up his nose when Zach reached out for him.

 

“How about a kiss?” Zach offered, though it sounded more like a demand while his fingertips tried to hook in his belt loops. He smacked the Alpha's hand away and was about to growl at him, despite his nerves, but then the door opened and Geoff walked in. The older man didn't look happy _at all_ and his lip was pulling back in a snarl before he was even half way across the room.

 

“My boy doesn't seem real happy with you sniffing around him,” Geoff growled, slapping a hand down on the younger Alpha's shoulder. Zach tried to posture but once the man's fingers dug and _twisted_ he just grimaced and kind of dipped down to try and lighten the pressure. “How about you get the fuck out of here, dude? And don't bother coming back tomorrow.”

 

“Fine! Jesus, old man, calm the fuck down.”

 

The young Alpha retreated with his tail between his legs. Geoff watched him go with a fierce glower but when the door closed his expression softened considerably.

 

“Gavvers?” Geoff moved in quickly, bracing an arm on the wall above the Omega's head while brushing the back of his tattooed knuckles over his softly bristled cheek, “You alright? Did he touch you?”

 

“No,” Gavin replied quickly, not wanting to give the Alpha ( _his_ Alpha) any reason to go beat some punk kid's ass.

 

Geoff carded his fingers through his hair. “Was he not listening, baby boy?”

 

His cheeks pinked up as he shook his head. “I should've slocked him, Geoff, but I froze up, I guess. Got a bit of a fright.”

 

“I can smell it all over you,” Geoff crooned, laying a palm over the Omega's pulse and his lips on the other side. The scratch of the man's beard was familiar and that warm-metal scent filled up his lungs, coiling down into his stomach and sending warmth through his limbs. It felt like the old days when he couldn't grow facial hair and he was all limbs and Geoff was the fresh faced Alpha that he secretly used to watch nap on the couch and would climb all over when he was given the chance. Geoff's hands started gently rubbing over his shoulders to ease in his scent once more and to soothe out the little worry knots that had started because of that asshole Zach. It hadn't been a real threat but the faint stress signatures in the Omega's scent had driven him straight into a protective mod that soothed all the rough edges.

 

“I forgot that I was yours for a second,” Gavin laughed weakly, tilting his head back so the Alpha's fingers could tease along his Adam's apple and the column of his throat. A thumb pressed hard on the red mark from the breakfast incident and his eyes fell shut.

 

“I should mark you up a little better,” Geoff mused, tongue darting out to teasingly lick along the soft thump of the Omega's pulse. “Make sure you and everyone else remember you're mine. Come here.”

 

Sleepy-eyed and pliant, Gavin was led over to the table and manhandled up to sit on the edge. Geoff's finger fanned across the inside of his thighs, the Brit's breath hitching noticeably as they were spread for the older man to step between. The Alpha kissed him nice and slow, tongue swiping across his lip for permission before it slipped inside. And when that generous mouth left his own he whined until he felt it roaming over his neck. He wrapped his arms around Geoff and bit playfully at his shoulder through his old t-shirt. Fingers snuck in under his own clothing and started teasing along his spine and up his the furry plane of his stomach. It was intimate and put him in a good, soft space in his head. _I missed this with him._

 

But it wasn't just the two of them anymore and the reason he kept his distance after he'd come back to America was just half a building away _._ It felt like there was an empty place beside him without the other Omega there.

 

“Where's Michael?” Gavin whimpered into the collar of the man's shirt. He was suddenly uneasy uneasy without his boy here to fill in the missing piece. “Can we have Michael here? I-I'm sorry, I need him too.”

 

“Of course, Gav. There's no shame in that.” Geoff smiled, running his thumb over the sensitive shell of the younger man's ear as he used his other hand to dig his phone out out of his pocket. He shot his other Omega a quick text to meet them in the big conference room before turning his attention back to Gavin.

 

When Michael found them he took one look at their faces and locked the door. He hopped up to sit beside his boy and threw an arm around his shoulders, his free hand seeking out Gavin's own and lacing their fingers while he softly bumped their heads together. Their hair kissed, spiky brunette tresses mixing in with the beginning of ginger curls. It was an unbearably sweet gesture and Gavin actually _purred_ in response. It was an odd, scratchy sound that Omega's could make not unlike a cat. It always left his chest a bit sore but it felt right and it made Michael smile so he kept doing it.

 

Geoff stood where his Omega's knees met and he laid a hand on the napes of their necks.

 

“Is this better?” the Alpha asked, hope sketched all over his face.

 

“Much,” Gavin sighed, sinking further in against the other Omega.

 

Geoff preened. He decided work could wait and, as the boss, decided they needed a thirty break all together.

 

o0o0o0o

 

Geoff did the whole “proving himself as an Alpha” thing in his own way. He started cooking more and when they went out he would snag Gavin's tab before the Brit could even grab for his wallet. He would lay his hand on his back or shoulders while they walked and scent his neck throughout the day. He was providing and scent marking and it made Gavin smile whenever he thought about it.

 

When they went out to eat and they snagged a booth, Michael liked to be the one to throw his arm over the back of Gavin's seat after he finished his food (because he was a scarfer and his food never lasted more than a minute or two). He'd occasionally nose at him but mostly he would shoot sharp glares at anyone who gave him a strange look. It was known for Omegas to be close but this was still Texas. Male Omegas couldn't have kids but they were still _Omegas_ so homosexual relationships weren't exactly rare but people still sneered in disgust and turned up their noses when they saw couples like Michael and Gavin scenting one another in public.

 

Gavin almost never saw the staring because his friends were quick to glare people off.

  
What surprised Gavin the most was that Michael was a fan of secretly holding hands. Beneath the desk, behind their backs, in the car, whenever they were alone or wherever they could hide their laced fingers. Michael never said a word about it so Gavin always got that little thrill of surprise when the Omega's shorter, thicker fingers would creep over and find his own. He did it to Geoff too. It was a secret-not-secret the three of them shared. A quiet intimacy that was just the comfort of another person's touch.

 

His boy was a never ending well of secrets and Gavin knew he'd enjoy trying to unearth them all.

 

o0o0o0o

 

Gavin had a rough two days – forty eight hours of pure hell.

 

The morning of the first day his Xbox froze up and wouldn't play anything for nearly four hours. Four hours of not being able to do anything or be worthwhile and running around doing menial work to pass the time. And once Ryan finally got it to work again the capture wouldn't sync up. He tried to test out a few steam games for the next versus but halfway through the first round his favorite, personalized controller snapped along the casing line. It practically fell apart in his hands and there was nothing he could do.

 

Gavin sucked it up and got a new controller. He tried to join a _Minecraft Let's Play_ but he ended up ruining it ten minutes in when his Xbox fucked up again. Geoff and Michael both tried to talk him out of it but Gavin waved them off and grabbed Ryan and made the Alpha drive him down to the nearest game store to buy a new Xbox out of his own pocket. When he got back to the office and tried to hook it up it red-ringed immediately and he almost drove his fist through it.

 

“Hey, hey,” Ryan had soothed, hooking him under the arms and dragging him away from the console. “It's alright. I'll return it and get another one.”

 

The Alpha tried to get him to sit on the couch and cool off but the concerned looks from the rest of the AH crew irritated him on a molecular level so he ran out and made himself busy elsewhere. He took lead on the cameras for a podcast but something happened when he switched between Angle 3 and 6 and both cameras fizzled out completely. They were declared fried, some kind of short in the shared wire, and Gavin nearly screamed.

 

Gavin stayed super late that night to do editing and didn't get out until an obscene hour when he couldn't call a taxi and just decided to walk home. He got back to the house around two and endured an angry, tired rant from Geoff about being out that late.

 

“I would've come got you!”

 

Gavin flashed his blunt canines and stormed to his room with a harsh shout of, “I don't need to be taken care of, for Christ's sake!”

 

The next morning he pointedly walked to work and regretted it when he got there sweating at the collar and thirsty (and fucking hungry). He ate some of the doughnuts in the break room and they sat in his stomach really heavy and the sugar thickened up his blood until he was kind of slumped at his desk with his arm around his stomach. Geoff was tied up with Burnie and Gus doing some RvB stuff and Michael had taken the day off because he had to wait for an electrician to come by to fix the outlets

 

His phone went on an update that crawled at a snail's pace and wouldn't let him turn it off or use it so he just threw it in his bag.

 

The straw that broke him completely was when they were doing a GTA _Things To Do_. It was going great and he had started to feel better, Ray and Ryan's banter feeding his own as usual, but when he went to see if his squawking had blown the speaker he realized he hadn't set up the capture for audio or video. His agonized, frustrated yell bounced off the walls.

 

Gavin spent the rest of the day hiding in the annex behind Ryan's desk and breathing in the Alpha's warm scent. He mostly kept his knees up to his chest and his back pressed to the siding so he remained as small as possible. Ryan let him sulk and stayed quiet and plowed through his own work, occasionally petting lightly through the Omega's hair or handing him a snack.

 

“We could send Jack and Ray out to get food and scent on the couch?” Ryan offered after almost two hours of this, the Omega's eyes slowly opening to look at him. “That usually makes you feel better.”

 

“No thank, Rye-bread,” Gavin refused mildly. It was something they did sometimes and Ryan was always super sweet and cuddly but it wasn't what he needed right now. “Do you care if I stay here?”

 

Ryan smiled slightly and shifted his glasses further up his nose. “Of course not. Do you need a ride home?”

 

“Mm-hmm.”

 

“Alright then. I'm going to go get something to drink. Do you want a Coke?”

 

Gavin nodded, nudging the man's leg as he passed with a quiet thanks.

 

When he got home that night he was completely drained physically and mentally, fingers barely keeping their grip on his bag strap as he dragged it through the door. He shut and locked it and nearly collapsed against it. He didn't have the strength to do more than kick off his shoes and dump his bag on the side table.

 

“There you are.”

 

Gavin dragged his gaze up to see his Alpha standing there examining him. “Hey Geoff.”

 

“You look like death warmed over.”

 

He nodded heavily and tried his best not to slide down the door.

 

Geoff sighed, more from sympathy than exasperation. “Stay there, okay?”

 

Gavin closed his eyes and waited, torn between wanting to nod off and to cry from frustration. The weight of the past two days was hanging off his shoulders and threatening to crush his head. He could feel a headache thumping in the base of the skull. He was stiff from sitting practically under Ryan's desk for more than two hours and his eyes were sore from trying not to burst into angry tears all day. His stomach felt sour from the stress of not getting anything worthwhile done in two days. Thankfully Ryan hadn't let him stress eat or his belly would hurt more.

 

Geoff's hand on his shoulder startled him from his restless doze. “Come on, Gavvers. Let's get you to bed.”

 

Gavin wanted to protest but it felt _so good_ to have the Alpha hook an arm behind his knees and shoulders and pick him up bridal style. He nuzzled into Geoff's neck and held on as he was carried to the bedroom. The gesture reminded him of Michael's blissed out expression crying out _Daddy_ and the word stuck in his throat, almost ready to come out. But that wasn't for him, that was a special something between the other two.

 

“Wait,” Gavin murmured weakly when he realized Geoff was taking him to his room instead of the Omega's own.

 

“I don't want to hear it,” Geoff tisked, carefully sitting the boy at the bottom of the bed. He shushed him and started taking off his jacket, then the rest of his clothes. Gavin blushed brightly when he was down to just his boxers and he automatically covered his chest with his arms. Geoff made a soft noise and kissed him rather chastely on the lips, tattooed hands rubbing away the tension in his shoulders and pacifying the sudden spike of worry. Gavin loved the attention but he didn't want to do anything – ecspecially without Michael. The three of them hadn't gotten that far yet and he was so tired but he didn't want to push the Alpha away. He didn't want to seem unwilling but he wasn't ready and-

 

“I'll be right back, baby boy,” Geoff assured him, cutting off the building wave of thoughts. “Just relax, okay?”

 

Gavin nodded dumbly and watched him go, slumping on himself. He just wanted to sleep but without Geoff his mind went back to little useless ball of stress. When the Alpha came back in he had a pair of pajamas for him. Gavin chirped happily as the dryer-warmed fabric of one of Michael's muscle shirts was slid over his head with a brief order of _arms up_. The pants were one of his older pairs and it was ridiculously soft and they sat really nicely on hips. The older man must've left at first to shove them in the dryer with fabric softener to get them this comfortable. His heart swelled up and threatened to burst at the pure thoughtfulness of the action. Of course Geoff wouldn't want to do anything when he so clearly knew he wasn't feeling well.

 

“Michael's coming home soon,” Geoff said as he started changing into a pair of sweats and tugged off his socks. Gavin shyly admired all of the man's tattoos before a threadbare sleeveless shirt covered most of it. “You want to wait up for him or are you ready for bed, Gav?”

 

Gavin felt warm all over and ready to fall asleep the moment he laid down but he shook his head. “Can we wait?”

 

“Yeah we can. Come here.”

 

Geoff's painted arms practically scooped him up and drug him up to the top of the bed, fluffing the pillows up to cradle his head and then spooning up behind them. Their legs fit together perfectly and the hand that started to massage his belly felt like best comfort blanket. The man's other hand was above his head and soon his fingers were rubbing through his hair. They drifted together and drowned in the scent of one another.

 

Somewhere on the other side of the house the door opened and slammed shut, loud humming coming down the hall toward them. They had shaken of the daze by the time he door opened and Michael strolled in, grinning at the both of them as he started pulling off his clothes.

 

“Guess who's drunk?” Michael smacked his keys onto the dresser before jabbing himself in the chest with his thumb. “This guy. RWBY cast bev night, bitches. That fucking electrician was an asshole and I could've done the job in half the time but insurance shit and my landlord wasn't going to have it.” His enthusiasm started trailing off as he looked at the two men on the bed. He grabbed a pair of basketball shorts off floor and tugged them on, chest staying bare as he crawled into bed. “What's up, boy?”

 

“Bad day,” Gavin grumbled, lips starting to quirk up at the corners. “Better with you guys.”

 

“We left you alone for one day,” Michael teased lightly, cuddling up on the Brit's front so he was tucked in on both sides. With Geoff scratching through the other Omega's hair, Michael pet along his boy's hip and made a soft little cooing noise as he did it. Gavin melted between them as their scents started to mix so completely that his nose had a hard time picking their individual notes apart.

 

Gavin fell asleep and the last thing he could remember was two hands lacing together over his hip and a pair of plush lips pressing a kiss onto his own.

 

* * *

 

 

**Thank you Tugavin, laraloops, 0dalesque, and everyone else who sent me ideas for fluffy GGM. I used all of them.**  
 **And thank you MXD for filling my mind with Raywood smut. You were the best kind of distraction (please never stop sending me smut)**

 

 

 


	57. Burnie and Ray

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ray learns a lesson about scenting.
> 
> -
> 
> “What was that shit about feeling safe?”

**I did[a thing](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2116083) and made another story related to this one. Oops, whoa, how did that get there? *Zoidberg-run and whooping*  
**

**If you want more Mad King, go check it out. Maybe I'll post more, maybe not, it's all up in the air.  
**

**Speaking of "Mad King", your votes and comments have expressed a mighty need for more so "And Life is Wine" will fulfill that need because it doesn't really fit in this fic anymore and I am very sorry to have lead you to believe otherwise. But it's like a multiverse thing and there's a lot of similarities like rules and scents and dynamics. Just saying.**

**This chapter happens during "Burnie and Joel IV", it's what Burnie freaks out about, the scene I promised you.**

* * *

 

 “And he finally goes, 'He's not an eggplant, he's retarded!'”

 

Ryan leaned back in his chair, lips pursed as he shook his head. “I'm sorry. It's not funny. Maybe I don't get it.”

 

Ray waved it off. “Whatever. The show's good. A nearly all female cast, man? You never see that shit. And they're all ready good. The chick from _That 70's Show_ and the captain from _Star Trek_ is in it. Next time you come over we're watching the first three episodes, for sure.”

 

Ryan conceded, throwing his palms up in surrender. The Omega was leaning against the desk in front of him, blocking the view of his computer as the video he'd been editing tried to render. Ray had his palms braced on the edge of the desk, subconsciously stretching his skinny body out in a way that displayed the way the t-shirt stretched across his chest and the way his jeans rode low on his hips. He rarely wore full pants but they hugged his legs nicely according to Tina. She'd been the one to buy them for him and they used to make him feel uncomfortable before the new Omega hormones his body pumped out started plumping up his thighs and hips. Now they fit better and he was kind of showing off for the Alpha. Ryan was sitting in his chair, scooted back a bit to give the Omega a respectful space. It was the middle of the day and surrounded by their coworkers but Lindsay was ready to throw up from the sweet bedroom eyes they were shooting at each other.

 

Ray started another joke but the Alpha's attention was wavering to the keychain hooked to one of the boy's front belt loops. It was just the logo, real simple, but it rested to the side of his fly and it was occupying a tempting space. He reached out and fiddled with the durable rubber logo.

 

“You like it?” Ryan asked, cutting the Omega off in the middle of a word.

 

“Uh, yeah,” Ray chewed the side of his lip, looking down with sweet nerves coiling up in his belly. The Alpha's fingers looked so big playing with the small keychain. They were pale and the nails were neat – _fuck_ , Ryan had good hands. He was looking up at Ray with a growing, devious smile and golden day old stubble. He was a tempting mixture of handsome and playful and predator and it was making his heart titter and jump around in his chest. 

 

Ray looked away and spotted Burnie standing by Monty's desk. Though he was handing over a flashdrive to the animator his eyes were stuck on them. There was a serious expression on his face, way too serious for the Rooster Teeth office. Once he realized the Omega had caught him he looked away with a cringe of guilt.

 

Ray was distracted from his boss by the way Ryan scooted up closer, sliding a knee between the boy's legs and breaking into his personal bubble. Ray's breath hitched and he kind of jumped but he tried to play it cool. He parted his legs with a little smirk as the Alpha tugged harder on the keychain. Ryan's grin was more effective in melting him to pieces and making him feel like prey but he didn't mind either. It was a silent tease in a crowded place. No one really knew they were courting yet. It had only been two days and they had agreed to wait until Monday to tell everyone. They wanted a week to have some privacy, to stay at each other's houses and scent and maybe sleep over if it got late enough.

 

Ryan had picked him up from his house this morning and they had ended up holding hands for the last minute of the drive. When they'd pulled up to the gate it had been with secret smiles and tingling fingers.

 

The keychain was tugged on hard enough to get his attention.

 

“So,” Ryan drew the word out, letting a single finger hook in a belt loop. “You should come over tonight, _wife_. Let me make you dinner.”

 

Ray rolled his eyes. “And why should I do that, _husband?_ ”

 

Ryan cracked a real smile. “It'll be good. You can let me do all the work and I'll let you play Xbox while I cook.”

 

The Omega's expression softened considerably. “You know you don't have to impress me, Rye.”

 

“Jesus Christ!” Lindsay moaned, clamping her hands down onto her headphones. “Just let the guy cook you a decent meal, Ray! I'm trying to work and you two are making my teeth rot.”

 

“Well, I can't very well say no now, can I?” Ray chuckled.

 

“Not unless you want to be put in a hole,” Ryan jested back easily.

 

The Omega raised a single eyebrow at him. “If you _ever_ call me Edgar, I will leave you.”

 

“Fair enough.”

 

o0o0o0o

 

Ray was surely _not_ pouting.

 

Ryan had been busy all day. _The Patch_ , running errands with Lindsay to replace all the equipment that someone (who shall remain nameless and rhyme with _Davin_ ) spilled coffee on and fried, helping Kara do more of the technical side of things that Ray would never know about Rooster Teeth and the _Day 5_ project, and even disappearing for an hour before the _Let’s Play_ all ruffled and without an explanation besides _‘fucking birds, don’t ask’_. And right after Geoff had them wrap it up, Kerry came by and said Gus needed help with his UPS and then the Alpha was up and out again.

 

Ray shifted lower in his seat, arm crossed over his chest and hood up over his head. He hadn’t gotten to spend even a handful of seconds alone with the Alpha all day and he was starting to get twitchy. He just needed a moment to bury his nose in Ryan’s strong neck and inhale – he was like an addict with a fix. But he didn’t want to be needy or weird so he just tried to push it aside. It honestly wasn’t even just Ryan – he was realizing that the virile scent of just _Alpha_ was enough to calm him down. He didn’t want to ask Geoff because Gavin and Michael were right there and he didn’t want to impede on their honeymoon. Joel was out of the question because he didn’t want to lead the guy on and he was kind of afraid that if he smelled like him Ryan would get all growly. Growly was hot and all but he didn’t want to start another fight. (Okay, he did, but that was because he was a big perv.)

 

So when he was called to Burnie’s office he trudged and moped all the way there.

 

“Wow, kid, you look awful,” Burnie teased the moment he walked inside.

 

“Thanks, asshole,” Ray grumbled, leaning against the wall beside the door with slumped shoulders. “What’s up, man?”

 

“I just realized that I’ve been pretty rude.” Burnie came around the desk, smooth as anything, and the Omega didn’t think twice about the almost predatory like move. “You presented, what, last month?”

 

“Month and a half, something like that,” Ray rattled off.

 

“Well, I’m your boss, and an Alpha,” Burnie stated, “And I know you haven’t scented with a lot of others but I feel kind of obligated. We’re going to be working together for a long time and now that you’re an Omega I want you to know you can trust me.”

 

Ray remembered Gavin and Michael and all the little shit Burnie had done but there was no fear in him for the man. He had heard Geoff explain to Michael once about hormone imbalances and stuff but he never really thought to ask about it. “I trust you.”

 

“Scenting is an important part of social bonding.” God, now it was sounding like a lecture. “I know you’ve been unpresented for a long time but you’re an Omega now. And that Omega part of you needs to know that it’s safe here.”

 

“It is. Right?”

 

“Of course,” the Alpha waved his concern away, still walking closer. “But it’s just biology stuff. I just wanted you to know that you’re always welcome to scent with me.”

 

Ray perked up at that. Burnie didn’t smell terrible to him. They were in his office in the middle of the day, Ryan was busy, and Geoff didn’t care where he went. He had a half hour to spare. He knew that it wasn’t exactly ‘proper’ or whatever with Ryan courting him but everyone seemed to know now, including Burnie, so this must’ve been acceptable on some level. Their boss had been doing really good lately. He’d been nicer, calmer, and the way he’d been treating the office Omegas had vastly improved. Ryan wouldn’t mind, he was sure of it.

 

“Can we do it right now?”

 

“Now?”

 

He nodded. “I’m not busy, and it would be cool.”

 

Burnie’s smile was a tad too wide. “Alright.”

 

Ray inhaled sharply as the Alpha crowded him into the wall, large hands skimming up his back and along his ribs while his nose tucked into his throat. “Ry-Ryan said scenting from the neck is… _ooh._ ”

 

Ray was embarrassed by the coo that came out of him when the older man nipped at the scent gland hidden under his jaw. His head fell back as little hot shocks and bolts flickered between his thighs and up into his chest. Ryan had done this to him a few times – he said it was a hormone flush, a way to kickstart a body into getting ready to scent without the foreplay of softer stimulation. Usually to scent the skin had to be brushed and rubbed, encouraging the nodes under their skin to pump out more scent to mark and exchange. But this was a total natural hack and it always made his knees go weak every time. Gavin liked to tease and say he was sensitive to scents, a lot of Omegas were, and maybe that was true.

 

Burnie’s beard scratched at his neck but his lips were smooth, going over his pulse and jaw and down to the hollow of his throat. It felt nice and smelled like Alpha so he went along with it, relaxing against the wall and letting his eyes fall shut. He ran his hands down Burnie’s arms and they flexed under his fingertips. The Alpha muttered something to himself, sounding grave, but Ray couldn’t really hear it past the sensation of the man’s hand squeezing his hip. He felt fleshy under his hand, kind of squishy and soft, but it wasn’t a bad thing. He was mentally slipping into that small, safe place in his head and he had to hold onto the Alpha’s shoulders to keep from sinking to the floor. Fingers swept under his shirt a little at a time. A fingernail scratched just under his nipple and he shivered.

 

Ray was moaning softly long before he understood why. His eyes popped open and he shoved Burnie away the moment he realized he was kissing him. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and glared fiercely at the dark eyed Alpha. “You motherfucker.”

 

Burnie gaped at him, looking just as surprised. “Ray, I…”

 

“How fucking _dare you_?” Ray snarled out, kittenish canines flashing like he was ready to bite. “What was that shit about feeling safe?”

 

It looked like a range of emotions were flicking across the Alpha’s face and he started to look a little green around the edges but there was no sympathy in his heart.

 

“You fucking stay away from me,” Ray snapped, throwing open the door and storming out. He was halfway down the hall towards the office when he shoulder bumped into someone.

 

“There you are,” Ryan smiled, righting himself from where he’d nearly lost his footing walking straight into his friend. He was about to say something else but he sniffed instead and caught Burnie’s scent, a rough sound rumbling across his tongue. Ray resisted the urge to smack him across the face and decided to slap both his palms down on the man’s chest and _push_. The Alpha stumbled back into the wall, nearly taking a spill, eyes rounding out as he went silent.

 

“Don’t you fucking growl at me, asshole!”

 

He heard his name being shouted as he stormed off but he refused to look back. He didn’t know where he was going at first but his feet took him to the back smoking patio. It was acrid and stale but there was no one there to gawp at him. He sat down on top of one of the picnic tables and tried to calm down but every time he thought about it he just got angry again. He shouldn’t known better. He felt so fucking stupid. To take advantage of the way he got scent drunk so easy…that was sick. It was a shit thing to do and he wouldn’t be forgetting it any time soon.

 

“Hey, buddy.”

 

The light greeting startled him a little. “Hey, Jack.”

 

Jack came around to stand in front of him, hands deep in the pockets of his hoodie. “That was impressive back there. I’ve never seen Ryan bowl over like that.”

 

“Well, bitches gotta’ learn,” he tried to joke, his tone coming out flat and mean.

 

The Beta kicked at the ground to knock a few pebbles away. “So.”

 

“So?”

 

“The other Lads and Geoff are off doing something together and the office is empty,” Jack pointed out. “I have some editing to do. You’re welcome to come hang out with me. I won’t ask any questions.”

 

Ray chewed on the swell of his lower lip, cringing when he tasted the Alpha still on his lips. “Can…can I scent with you?”

 

“Of course you can, dude.”

 

“Do you have any water?”

 

Jack’s eyes softened. “Yeah. Let’s go wash out your mouth, okay?”

o0o

 

A little while later when Geoff returned with his Omegas from the set the track where they’d tested out the little motorbikes they’d be riding for _Immersion_ they found an unusual sight. Jack was sitting near the edge of his seat, headphones on and steadily editing one of the spare videos they had laying around, but he had an Omega in his chair. Ray had curled himself up along the Beta’s back and had his hood pulled low over his head, eyes closed and mouth parted to let out soft little breaths. Once in a while he’d turn his head to bury his nose in Jack’s hoodie to breath in his smell but then he would rest his cheek back down and go back to his impromptu nap.

 

Gavin made a concerned noise, torn between wanting to cuddle up to his friend and staying away so he could sleep. “What happened?”

 

“Ray learned a hard lessons about Alphas today,” Jack sighed, glancing over his shoulder at the sleeping Omega. “He handled it though.”

 

Geoff’s jaw ticked under his beard. “Did Ryan do something?”

 

“No.”

 

“Burnie,” the Alpha fumed.

 

“We should leave him alone about it,” Jack stated with a certainty that surprised them. “He’s tougher than he looks, guys. We should give him some more credit.”

 

Michael, who had always had a soft spot for one of his best friends, nodded slowly. “Yeah, okay. But if he hurt him, I’m going to fuck him up. Alpha boss or not.”

 

“I’m your boss,” Geoff corrected him.

 

“Yeah, Boss Man, whatever you say.”

 

 


	58. Ryan and Ray XIV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryan repents for his little Alpha-growling stunt.
> 
> -
> 
> “I think it's a good indication of our relationship if our first fight didn't actually involve any fighting.”

**Takes place directly after the last chapter, and the morning after Burnie and Joel spend the night together. I'm making a masterpost/link post with all the chapters so this'll be easier to follow soon.**

 

* * *

 

 **Ryebread:** _I'm sorry, Ray._

 **Ryebread:** _I didn't mean to do that. Can we talk?_

 **Ryebread:** _I'm here when you're ready to talk but I promise I'm sorry._

 **Ryebread:** _Do you need a ride home? Just a ride. You don't have to say anything if you don't want to._

 **Ryebread:** _I wish you weren't angry. I know you got home safe, at least. Goodnight, Ray._

 

Ray tossed his phone on the couch with an angry scowl and a raw heart, pouring his feelings into his Xbox. He knew if it got too much he could call Jack so he just pushed it out of his mind for now.

 

o0o

 

Ryan didn't go home that night. He stayed late catching up on editing and pretending he wasn't sulking. Ray had been so upset earlier and the Omega had made a point to get a ride from Michael and leave without saying goodbye. He hadn't meant to growl at Ray and he hadn't wanted to start off their courtship this way. But Bunie's scent had been all over _his_ future mate and the horrible growl had just been his first instinct. A rude Alpha response, he knew, but it had happened too fast to silence. Ryan had spent all this time trying to prove to Ray that he wasn't like the usual knotheads and that he thought of him as a person before an Omega and he had ruined that in one quick motion.

 

He could still feel Ray's hands digging into his chest and the faint ache in his back reminded him of just how hard he had hit the wall. His sweet, shy Omega had a sharp edge to him and he wouldn't ever forget that. _At least I don't have to worry about another Alpha taking advantage of him._

 

Ryan woke up to the alarm on his phone just four hours after he'd managed to convince his brain to shut down long enough to lay down. 'His' couch in the AH office was super comfortable but he was exhausted and his eyes were sore from staring at a computer screen for so long. Even with his glasses he couldn't handle the strain like he could in his twenties. There was the start of a true migraine ticking in his temples. He folded up the blanket and put it in the cabinet along with the few pillows they stashed away for nights that got too long. Geoff and Gavin were notorious for crashing in the middle of the day and catching a nap. Their scents clung to the fabric but he didn't mind, it was kind of comforting to have the smell of his Pack Alpha and his new mate around him while he slept. (And wasn't that an archaic thought?)

 

He popped two over-the-counter pain meds and started clearing his desk off. Paper cups with the dregs of coffee still in them and Coke cans littered the surface and he swept them all in a trash bag together along with the wrappers of energy bars he had suffered through around midnight to keep his stomach from revolting. The more tension he felt the more caffeine he consumed and having Ray ignore his texts really racketed up his stress levels. He was sure he had screwed up already. He'd finally got up the courage to ask Ray to court after that fiasco with Tina and then he _growled_ at him like some posessive asshole.

 

Ryan drifted into the break room and found Joel his face practically buried in the mug he'd given to the older Alpha. “Hey, Joel.”

 

“Hey, Ryan,” Joel replied in the same tired voice. While he fixed a cup for himself he couldn't help but stare at the Alpha's v-neck, dark little bruises peaking out along the hem. It looked like a bite mark along the left side and if his memory served him right that was a weak spot for Joel. They'd been casually scent-brushing every morning since they'd made peace with their fight but when Ryan moved in to do so the other flinched.

 

“I'm sorry,” he offered with a tinge of confusion.

 

“No, it's fine, sorry,” Joel blabbed, knuckles white on the cup. “Uh, go ahead.”

 

“Are you alright?”

 

Joel nodded quickly but he still looked nervous. Ryan stepped into the older man's personal space and sniffed at his hair, system flooded with mint and shining plastic and under all of it was pure _Burnie_. The implication was a shock and before he knew it he was pinning the other Alpha against the counter with his nose pressed against his thumping pulse. This wasn't just in passing or from some shitty dominant display like they'd shared, Burnie's smell was rubbed deep into his skin.

 

“Ryan,” Joel murmured, more embarrassed than protesting.

 

It felt like talking to Gavin in the bathroom all over again. “What did he make you do?”

 

“Jesus, Haywood,” the Alpha snarled softly, “He didn't _make me_ do anything. And what we did was none of your business.”

 

Ryan slowly pulled away though his fist stayed balled up in the man's shirt. “You know I caught his scent all over Ray yesterday, right?”

 

“Burnie and Ray... _scented_ ,” the word was spat out with an ugly sneer. “Did the kid say anything about it?”

 

The Alpha's lips thinned out to a firm, white slash. “No. Did he try something? I swear to God, Joel, don't lie to me.”

 

Joel smacked his hand away, rising to his full height. “If Ray says nothing happened, then nothing happened. Stop waving your pitchfork at Burnie and trying to make this bigger than it is.”

 

“He doesn't really need any help with that, does he?” Ryan shot back coolly.

 

“Oh fuck you, Haywood.” Joel went to walk away but the man grabbed his hand, and when he looked he had a new crease in his brow. “What?”

 

“I'm just concerned.” He shivered when the younger Alpha's thumb ran across his inner wrist. “Really, Joel. I know his hormones have been a little haywire recently and I know your partiality to Alphas. We can be taken advantage of too. If you need help...”

 

“Ryan,” his name was said with a mix of exasperation and fondness as a hand was scrubbed across the older man's face. “Burnie and I are...we're really old friends, and we've discussed this at length. This is – what's that phrase? Safe, sane, and consensual?”

 

The tight bands of worry that had curled around Ryan's lungs eased up. “Yeah, that's the one.”

 

“So are you going to stop being a dick?”

 

Ryan raised the other man's hand and ran his nose along the inside of his wrist, kissing the skin for just a second. The action inspired a sweet rush of hormones that screamed _content Alpha_ and it made them both kind of smile. “I'm sorry. I haven't been thinking straight the past two days.”

 

That made Joel pause. “Did something happen?”

 

“I just have to apologize to Ray. I went a little primal and he wasn't in the mood for it.”

 

Color slowly drained out of the other's face. “Was it because of Burnie?”

 

Ryan scraped his teeth over his lower lip. “I don't think we should discuss him right now.”

 

“That's legit.” Joel slowly took back his hand and used it to uncurl the zip jacket from around his waist, shrugging it on to hide the possessive marks his best friend had left all over him. “Can you not say anything to anyone?”

 

Ryan snorted. “Your smell is going to give it away.”

 

“Dude.”

 

“Okay, okay,” Ryan conceded with a slight smile. “I won't say anything. I hope you enjoyed all those pretty marks, Heyman. They look good on you.”

 

“Stop sniffing my ass, Haywood. It's taken.”

 

Blonde brows shot up to a matching hairline. “Wait, 'taken'? You two...”

 

The older Alpha puffed up. “Is that so hard to believe?”

 

“No!” Ryan blurted out quickly. “God, no, Joel, I just didn't think of you and Burnie before. It's strangely fitting, I suppose. I just had to get used to the idea. It's a little shocking at first.”

 

“Great,” Joel griped, “The entire office is going to be gawking at us. I wanted to try and keep this under wraps a little but you know Burnie, everything has to be loud.”

 

“This is going to be good for him,” Ryan mused out loud. “Good for both of you. Good for us all, really.”

 

“Whatever, dude, I just know I'm getting laid,” Joel tried to joke it off but there was obvious relief in his voice. “See you later, okay?”

 

“Yeah, man.”

o0o

 

Ryan was getting wired up to do one of his rare appearances on _The Know_ when Burnie showed up. “Change of plans. Brandon's going to be doing this one. Once you're free, Ryan, I think we should talk.”

 

The ominous declaration made everyone on set kind of nervous so one of their new interns (the one that had replaced that asshole Zach) hurried to take the mic out of the Alpha's shirt. Ryan mulled over what he could have done as he slowly followed the Alpha away from the sets and back to the main building. Tendrils of Joel's crisp, clean scent came off the older man as he walked on ahead. He thought about this morning and Joel's reactions and he eventually realized what was happening.

 

“Burnie?” Ryan grabbed the Alpha's arm and made him turn to face him. “If you're dragging me to your office to yell at me, you can save it. Just because I found out about you and Joel doesn't mean I'm going to go running my mouth. It's really between you two. I already told him that."

 

Burnie cast a look around before he stepped up and got toe-to-toe with the younger Alpha. His glasses were ripped off and behind them were dark eyes grown hard in a fierce glare that he felt down to the pit of his stomach. But Ryan hadn't backed off an Alpha since he was in college so he kind of puffed out his chest and refused to yield.

 

“I'm not going to posture with you, Burns. We're too old for that.”

 

Burnie looked ready to either punch him or take him to the ground and he was ready for both. “I don't care what kind of claim you think you have on Joel because you beat him in some stupid wrestling match. So stick to your Omega and your pack and stop rubbing your stink all over him.”

 

Ryan wanted to hang his head and sigh but he stared him down instead. “If you honestly think you and Joel aren't part of any pack I have then I feel bad for you.”

 

There was a flash of _something_ across his boss's face before the scowl came back. “Keep your hands off him, Haywood.”

 

“Then keep your hands off Ray.”

 

That made him flinch.

 

“Yeah, I smelled you on him yesterday and I don't appreciate _your_ stench on _my_ boy,” Ryan countered with his own sneer. Burnie didn't yield but he did take a step back, chin raised defiantly.

 

“Truce?”

 

“This isn't a game,” Ryan lamented as he tried to be the bigger man. “If you and Joel are together and you'd prefer for me not to scent him, I can respect that. But you have to do the same for Ray. And Gavin, since you seem to like him so much.” The other Alpha's face reminded him of Joel's this morning. “I know about that too. It makes me sick and pisses me off but Gavin made me promise to leave it alone and I keep my promises to Omegas. Maybe you should go hang out with Joel more, maybe some of his good manners and decency will start to rub off on you.”

 

Ryan left him standing there with his mouth open, fists clenched at his side and head pounding with the need of more Tylenol. _This is not how I wanted to spend my first courting week with my chosen Omega._

 

o0o

 

Clouds had covered up the usually bright Austin sky by the time six PM rolled around and people started to leave the office.

 

Lindsay shot Adam a wink on her way out with a mime to call her and darted off the second the hour hit.

 

Burnie lingered in Joel's office, standing behind the older Alpha and rubbing his shoulders as he explained what he had said to Ryan. Joel was pissed at first but he came around as his new bedmate started working out the stiffness in his muscles. Burnie dropped a kiss in dark hair and made an offer of dinner and a movie like a normal couple. After a few playful nips across a certain sweet spot and digging in his fingers _extra_ hard, Joel melted and agreed.

 

Arryn waited patiently beside Miles' desk, purse slung over her shoulder and arms crossed over her chest. After fifteen minutes projects were successfully saved and shut off and she got a sweet kiss for being so understanding.

 

Monty unfolded himself from his chair with a groan and tried to extend his legs but they were sore from being crumpled up under him all day long. He was muttering about how he was always so forgetful of his limits when Blaine walked by and flashed a handsome smile, offering to take care of his problem for him. With a hesitant nod, Monty found himself holding back little happy chirps and moans as his friend's strong hands worked over his calves and the tops of his thighs right there in the middle of the Annex. He blushed a little but stretched out for the Alpha to have full access. Blaine wet his lips and looked up through his lashes before mentioning that he had massage oil at home. The Omega's smirk was silky smooth and terribly wicked. “That's such a coincidence, man, because so do I. Want to come over and give it a try?”

 

Kara sat on the edge of Barbara's desk with a knowing smile and a little hitch of her skirt. She extended an invitation for drinks and the blonde nodded so hard her pretty curls bobbed.

 

Caleb and Kerry made a bet at the front desk. “Twenty says Blaine comes in with hickies, thirty says Barb does. Deal?”

 

Josh watched the couples go with a sigh. He adjusted his hat and sat back in his chair, resigned to spending an evening neck-deep in work. He sniffed and caught a whiff of pumpkin spice before Chris saddled up to his desk with an easy smile. His day got infinitely brighter with one sentence. “You got dinner plans, man?”

 

Geoff started down the concrete steps to the parking lot, shades over his eyes, absently reached back to grab his mate as almost a second nature. Michael took his Alpha's hand but snatched Gavin's as well with a mischievous grin and pulled the Omega quickly after them. Gavin laughed nervously and got a little pink around the ears but he followed the little train of linked fingers just as happily as any other boyfriend would.

 

Ray made exaggerated gagging sounds as the trio made their way across the parking lot but stopped when Jack walked up beside him. He'd been spending most of his day with the Beta figuring things out, idly scenting with him and spending most of his time hanging out at his desk. Jack was good for helping them, as a group, to get their shit together. He was very calm and the lack of knot and slick made him see things a lot clearer. He had explained Ryan's intentions as well as Burnie's and the Omega was feeling a lot better with the Beta's cottony, downy scent packed up in his lungs and all that logic up in his head to widdle down the spiky anger.

 

“My lady,” Jack teased, holding his arm out.

 

“Asshole.” Ray rolled his eyes at first but the Beta waggled his eyebrows endearingly and he couldn't fight it off. He hooked their arms and let the older man lead him down the steps and into the parking lot.

 

“Do you need a ride home?”

 

“That'd be awesome, dude.”

 

When they got closer to Jack's car they noticed a certain Alpha leaning against his own car and waiting, sunglasses perched on top of golden hair with heavy stubble to match growing across the cut of his jaw. “I think your prince already showed up.”

 

“King,” Ray corrected lightly, reluctantly letting go of the Beta's arm. “Do you mind...?”

 

“Nah,” Jack assured him, reaching up and scratching along the Omega's ear like Geoff often did to Gavin. It had Ray making that weird chitter noise he had never done before he he presented as an Omega, the sensation sending sweet frizzles down into his spine. “You two have fun and make up. And then make out.”

 

Ryan gave a nod and smile to his coworker as he walked by, the Beta shooting him a _be good_ before he headed toward his car across the parking lot. The watched them go and the air was sort of tense. Ray had his hands stuffed in his jacket and was staring at the ground, wondering what he was going to say. He had been ignoring Ryan for the past day and a half at first in anger and then in embarrassment.

 

Ryan was the first to break the ice. “I think it's a good indication of our relationship if our first fight didn't actually involve any fighting.”

 

“I shouldn't have pushed you,” Ray admitted. “If you're mad, I get it. I would walk the moment someone put their hands on me.”

 

Ryan held out his hand and waited. It was a gesture that the Omega knew he could refuse but he didn't want to. He pulled his hands out of his pockets and gave one, getting slowly pulled in so they stood knee-to-knee. Ryan pressed a kiss to his knuckles and down to his wrist, eyes half-lidded and content as he slowly breathed in the vanilla scent of his friend. “I will never, _ever_ , touch you like that.”

 

“Promise?” Ray breathed, tilting his head in permission for the Alpha to brush their cheeks and kiss lightly just below his ear.

 

“Promise.”

 

“How can I trust a big, tough Alpha like you?” Ray teased, threading his fingers into the man's hair. It was thick and it felt good to fist up in his hand. A stray thought went through his head of how it would feel between his fingers while the man's mouth trailed down his chest.

 

“Because I respect you as an Omega and as a person who has the right to consent to or deny another person touching you in any spectrum of what can be perceived as violence,” Ryan rattled off against his skin, fingertips touching his skin in a way that was so light he almost couldn't feel it through his clothes. The Alpha's mouth skimmed up to his ear, teeth catching the lobe just for a moment as hot breathed washed over the skin. “And you're my boy. I couldn't leave a mark on you that you didn't ask for.”

 

“Jesus, Rye,” Ray cursed, little tingles going through his knees like they were linked to his ear. “So we're done fighting now right?”

 

“If you forgive me.”

 

“Of course I do, dumbass,” Ray grabbed his hand more firmly and looked him right in the eye. “Get in the car. We're totally going to make out like Jack said. Your place or mine?”

 

“Yours?”

 

“Fuck the hell yeah.”

 

o0o

 

“Get out of there,” Joel called sleepily from the bed. He was stretched out on his stomach, arms wrapped around the pillow he had his cheek resting on and hips moving restlessly against the bed as he adjusted to the ache there. He was practically floating with pleasure from taking the other Alpha's knot again. It hadn't hurt as badly this time and Burnie had taken it agonizingly slow, rocking into him and whispering pure filth in his ear about how he was the tightest hole he'd ever fucked. Even if it had only been pillow talk it had instilled a sense of pride in him.

 

Now Burnie was raiding his drawers and digging up his stash. “These are really nice, man.”

 

“I know,” Joel slurred, “That's why I bought them.”

 

“Wow,” Burnie awed, pulling out a pair of lacy half-cheeks and twirling them around his finger. “You should wear these to work.”

 

“I'm not getting fucked over my desk again,” he complained, eyes falling shut as sleep started to take him.

 

“What about in my office with the blinds drawn?” Burnie suggested, thumb tracing the delicate material. “You can sit on my desk and I'll eat you out until you come in these.”

 

Joel's eyes popped up and he sat up a little, staring a the Alpha in mild disbelief. “Would you seriously?”

 

“Oh, baby, there's a lot we can do with these.” He looked into the drawer with a growing grin. “Endless opportunities. Maybe we should go shopping together? You can buy me lunch and I'll buy you a teddy or something.”

 

Joel worried his lip, throwing his chin at the bottom drawer. “T-There's garters in there.”

 

Burnie perked up and the room surged with the smell of hot Alpha. “God damn, Joel, you're going to give me a heart attack.”

 

“And what do you think about that?”

 

“I think, 'Thank you, sir, can I please have another?' Because holy shit, man, _garters_? I think I just found Round Two.”

 

The older Alpha whined. “I can't go again, man. I'm not an Omega.”

 

“We'll see about that, baby,” Burnie snickered gleefully, yanking a simple black long out of the drawer. “Have you ever _actually_ been rimmed?”

 

Joel shuddered in excitement at the very word.

 

“Thought not. Roll over.”

 

o0o

 

“So what's courtship exactly? Is it like dating?”

 

Ryan blinked out of the pleasant daze he was in, face buried in soft dark hair and one arm curled around the Omega's waist. They were spooning in Ray's bed, fully clothed and keeping it modest beneath the covers. It was the first time they had done this and it was more than nice. The way their scents mixed made them sleepy and sated with something as simple as a little cuddling. Ray had never considered himself a snuggling guy before he became an Omega but now he could feel the itch in his blood to nose and knead and basically rub up against his friends like a stupid cat because touch felt _good_ and he'd always been denying himself the few things in life that made him content.

 

“It's like pre-dating, a trial period, but the longer it goes on the more it can get mixed up with actual dating. It's more a public declaration of intent,” Ryan drawled, some of that accent he'd worked so hard to lose slipping in as he lazily nuzzling into the Omega's shoulder. “It's to show that I'm worthy of dating and, eventually, having you claim me as your Alpha. If we're compatible then maybe even one day being your mate.”

 

Ray chuckled past his blush, reaching down and squeezing the hand laying on his stomach. “Of course you're worthy. That's crap, Rye, I know you're best.”

 

“I want to prove myself to you,” Ryan admitted bashfully, feeling a little silly. “It's old fashioned but my father did it with my mom and my brothers with their wives...it's like southern tradition. I know you haven't got that a lot growing up in New York, but it feels good to make you happy and I think that makes it worth it, right?”

 

“Guess so.” More than, if his twittering heart was anything to go by. He felt all light headed at the thought of Ryan really and truly courting him. “We're actually doing this, huh? You and me, everyone knowing, all that.”

 

Ryan squeezed his hand back. “We don't have to tell anyone if you don't want to. Though I think they already know.”

 

“Yeah. It'd be kind of stupid to hide anything now,” Ray sighed, blurry gaze sliding over the floor where their clothes were mating. “But I don't want to hide you at all, man. Kind of want to throw it in their faces. I got _the_ Ryan Haywood in bed with me right now.”

 

Ryan sat up and looked down at the boy, cupping his cheek and moving his head so he could press a chaste kiss on his lips. “And I have _the_ Ray Narvaez Jr. laying here with me...right now.”

 

There was another kiss and Ray chased it with a faint needy sound.

 

“And if we were to ever belong to each other, it'd be equally,” Ryan promised, thumb grazing over the sparse dark across across the Omega's chin. “All those hungry Alphas at the office can eat their hearts out because I'm going to ruin you for anyone else.”

 

The possessive gleam in Ryan's usually clear eyes had Ray nodding and arching up to show off the tempting line of his neck. It was pure instinct and he wasn't sure what he was doing at first but the wet kiss that brushed across his Adam's apple made it clear. Ryan could have him right now or five years from now but he was _his_ Alpha, no doubts about it.

 

All he had to do was show Ryan he wanted it too. After waiting a year in the limbo of a secret crush, letting Ryan leisurely court him was barely a hardship. They would do this right and proper, they would earn it, and it would be all the sweeter for it.

 

_I haven't got laid in twenty three years. What's a few more months?_

 

 


	59. Ryan and Ray - Courting, Part I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryan and Ray get their courtship on.
> 
> -
> 
> “You...you could call me that, if you want. Your boyfriend, I mean.”

Monday morning dawned bright and early and there was a good feeling in the air. It was easier to get out of bed and the coffee tasted better, the bacon was crispier, and traffic was smooth. There was no bumping in the break room for mugs and breakfast bars. Josh brought in enough McDonalds and doughnuts to get them all on a sugar/sodium high. Jokes were cracked and friendly arms slung over shoulders. Light scenting passed between friends, noses skimming and fingers scratching through hair.

 

And it was the first official day of courtship for the R&R Connection.

 

They had a group _Let's Play_ scheduled bright and early. So early, in fact, that Geoff's belly only had the first cup of coffee he'd downed at home in it and the Alpha wasn't happy. The Lads were wide awake but the two Gents in the office were taking a little longer to rub the sleep out of their eyes.

 

Ryan came in and stood in the door frame with his fists on his hips, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and hair brushed back, a lock of it threatening to fall into his eyes. His eyes looked a little tired behind the lenses of his glasses but mostly he seemed prepared to start the day. “Hey, guys. Ready for another fun-filled day of making asses of ourselves?”

 

“Rye-bread!” Ray hopped up out of his chair and crossed the room on quick feet. Ryan smiled indulgently and opened up his arms to wrap the Omega up in a hug. The boy's arms came up around his neck and a happy hum echoed in both their chests. They often scented first thing in the mornings and though Gavin was smacking loud cutesy air kisses at them they were pretty much ignored. Their friends were used to their more intimate scenting methods and seeing Ray tucked into the Alpha's neck was nothing new.

 

But then Ray pulled back just enough to stare into the older man's face and there was something warmer in his eyes. A yearning that he'd hid before was now there for anyone to see. A few silent questions passed between them, blonde brows knitting briefly, the younger man biting his lip. They'd talked at length about a dozen different ways they could tell everyone they were together. What better than being direct?

 

Ryan slid his glasses up into his hair and wrapped an arm low along the Omega's back. Slim fingers threaded through light hair, a single index finger hooking in the belt loop of the boy's khaki shorts like an anchor. The kiss was simple at first but Ray's sweet scent and the way his lips parted so easily for him...it was always a challenge to keep it chaste.

 

Michael was the first to look up and he let out a small noise of shock when he saw the two men. Ryan's forearm flexed and dragged Ray in like one of those old fashioned damsels, their kiss deepening as they kind of lost themselves in it. The Omega mussed up his friend's hair and Ryan fisted wrinkles into his shirt but neither seemed to care, too wrapped up in enjoying one another. By the time they pulled away the others were openly gaping at them.

 

“Uh, so,” Ray had to clear his throat and step away so he could figure out how to breathe again without the Alpha's tongue down his throat, “Ryan asked to court me last week and I totally said yes. So, yeah, all the homo.”

 

They had honestly never seen the group of geeks move so fast. Geoff caught them each in big bear hug and both got scratchy kisses on the cheeks with congratulations. While Jack was shaking Ryan's hand and snickering at the way the Alpha was getting embarrassed from the attention, Michael and Gavin both nuzzled Ray on each side and teased him about taking so long.

 

When Jack hugged Ray it was slower with a lot more meaning behind it. He whispered in the Omega's ear that he was glad everything got worked out and that he was truly happy for him. “I know Geoff's going to want to have a little party but you two should come over so Caiti can cook. She's been rooting for you guys since the beginning and she's going to be over the moon when she finds out.”

 

“That'd be super awesome, man.”

 

o0o0o0o

 

After that first kiss in front of the AH crew the news of their courtship spread like wildfire through the office. The lingering looks on Ray's ass and Ryan's shoulders trickled down to almost non-existent. It wasn't that they were afraid of the Alpha but the protective way he wrapped his arm around the boy's shoulders or rested a hand on his hip showed that their intentions were serious and other offers weren't welcome. Even if their exchanges were chaste, the couple looked good together and there was a raw gravity around them like they were bonding down to a cellular level. It was deeper than usual courtship, more intimate.

 

The kisses they shared at work were rare and light, just stolen moments in the break room or in pauses during videos. But their scenting was less subtle and they didn't try to hide it anymore. It was freeing for Ryan to just drag Ray in so they were back to chest and nuzzle the hell out of him mid-meeting or while they were waiting for work.

 

The word _satisfying_ was used a lot.

 

o0o0o0o

 

Ryan adjusted his glasses as wheeled the cart down past the frozen food aisles, leaning heavily on the long handle. The store was quiet this early in the morning and peaceful enough to let him think over what he wanted to pick up without having to make a list. Very few of the groceries he'd piled into the cart were for his fridge. He smiled to himself as he looked down at the vegetables and canned goods and cuts of meat. It would be good to soothe that old concern of Ray's nutrition and it would boost his ego a little to know the Omega was eating well with the food _he_ provided.

 

Ryan took a wrong turn looking for the soda aisle and ended up among colorful displays of shampoos. Body care items on one side, make up and hair accessories and dyes on the other. He plucked up a shampoo/conditioner and some unscented soap for his bathroom. He was about to turn the cart around and head back but he caught sight of the Omega Specialty section and gave pause. There was a certain brand he remembered looking up from his last Omega girlfriend that he'd almost bought her but it had been tailored to male Omegas. It had been a disappointment because it was one of the best and most highly rated among Omega-specialty doctors. They had an entire shelf to themselves in their signature red and silver packaging. The cart was left alone so the different bottles could be better examined.

 

Each one seemed to be catered for different times.

 

 _Everyday_. Just the usual type of Shea butter mix with different options to match well with certain scents. Sweet, savory, natural, artificial.

 

 _Pre-Heat._ Infused with catnip for general aches and indigestion. Valerian, to keep their bodies calm and protected from insomnia, early cramps, and spiking blood pressure. It was all laced with a scent neutralizing formula to keep the surge of their enhanced smell under wraps.

 

 _In-Heat_ , with a special blend herb essence to relax muscles and keep the skin supple to reduce wear and tear. Bromelain, rosemary, turmeric, licorice root, thyme, the list went on and it was all stuff he could recognize. Juniper leave extract and witch hazel were mixed in to help soothe the scratches that were inevitable with two people locked together in a heady rush of hormones. There were some anti-irritants in there too help with rashes that could develop of friction against slick flesh.

 

 _After-Heat_. Lobelia extract for muscle spasms. Kava root, chamomile, purified allantoin, and aloe. All more natural options anti-inflammatories and relaxers to promote cell growth and reduce bruising. There was a heavy dose of St. John's Wort to relieve depression or anxiety, but mostly for it's high melatonin retention to help Omegas sleep off the taxation of their bodies.

 

There were pills that did some of the same things that clinics passed off to uneducated Omegas just looking to get from heat to heat but they had a list of side effects as long as his arm. Feeling bold, he picked up one of each along with the same brand lotion that had the same properties of Icy-Hot. Ray's heat was probably still two months off but it never hurt to be prepared. He headed down the aisle with the intention of picking up some Coke and some kind of juice with the vitamins he knew Ray wasn't getting.

 

A few new things were added to his mental list.

 

o0o

 

Ray griped and raved the moment he showed up that night, complaining that he was a big boy and that he could take care of himself. Pointing to the empty fridge, Ryan calmly explained that it was his pleasure to do this for him and that it was no trouble at all. Together they found places for all the new food and Ray warmed up to the idea, even going so far as to hug the older man and thanking him quietly for all the fresh stuff.

 

“What are these?” Ray asked out loud, shaking one of the curvy bottles. “ 'After Heat Shakes'?”

 

“They're meal shakes packed with a bunch of vitamins and electrolytes and all the things an Omega sweats out during their heats,” Ryan informed him, putting the rest of the twelve pack in the crisper. “They have a long shelf life and I got a couple of different flavors. I've tried some myself and they're easy to drink and they're not too hard on the stomach. It'll be something to keep your energy up through your first heat.”

 

“Oh,” Ray exclaimed softly, giving the thing another shake and peering at the sealed cap that reminded him of the kind on top of hairspray. “So you take this cap off and there's a spout underneath? That's pretty bitchin'. Like a tiny sippy cup mixed up with the Danimals yogurts my mom used to get. Thanks for getting these for me, Rye. I wouldn't have remembered.”

 

“I'm sure Geoff would've stopped by and given you some,” Ryan assured him, moving aside the few things in the Omegas fridge to make way for the deli meat and cheese he'd bought him for sandwiches.

 

“But _you_ bought them for me,” Ray grinned, tossing the drink to him and letting him put it in the drawer. “I appreciate it, dude.”

 

Ryan waved it off though he was secretly preening. Chicken and hamburger were put in individual bags and packed neatly into the freezer. If he was going to fill up his friend's fridge he was going to do it right and organizing was a satisfying part of it. There was some rustling behind him before a happy exclamation and the sound of packaging being ripped into. He got up off the floor and brushed off his knees, looking to see what the Omega had gotten into.

 

“You did _not,_ ” Ray accused around a mouthful of peanut M&M's. He was digging through the bag that had candy and all the body washes he'd picked up. The younger man pulled out a few of the silver bottles and stared at them with wide eyes. “This stuff is _expensive_ , man. God damn. You bought all of them. Ryan, seriously.”

 

Ryan closed the distance between them and laid a hand on the Omega's hip, dropping a small kiss onto his cheek. “I know it's still some ways off but I want you to have everything you need here when it comes. It'll put me at ease to know you're prepared.”

 

“Going all Alpha on me?” Ray jabbed.

  
Ryan almost drew back. “Is that not okay?”

 

“It's more than okay,” he grabbed onto the Alpha's shirt and pulled him down into a real kiss, one that lingered longer in their reluctance to part. “You're too good to me. I'm going to get you back, Rye.”

 

“We're courting, this is what I want to do for you,” Ryan's voice was low and his eyes lingered on the younger man's lips.

  
“This is more a boyfriend thing than a courting thing, dude,” Ray teased lightly despite the way his heart fluttered at the word.

 

Ryan visibly tensed but it was more in surprise than anything else. The kiss he dropped on the Omega's cheek felt like it meant more than it usually did. “You...you could call me that, if you want. Your boyfriend, I mean.”

 

Ray butted their foreheads together. “You trying to make this all official-like so early, Mr. Haywood?”

 

He playfully brushed their noses. “You don't seem to have a problem with it.”

 

“Hell no I don't.”

 

o0o

 

Three days later Ryan got a phone call late into the evening. He put aside his screwdriver and fished for his phone, abandoning all thoughts of fixing his aunt's old desktop when he saw Ray's name flash across his screen. “Hey.”

 

“ _Ryan_ ,” the Omega whined over the line, sounding frustrated and kind of pissed, “ _I burned the fucking shit out of the food you bought me and I'm hungry._ ”

 

Ryan chuckled in amusement. “You could make yourself a sandwich or order a pizza.”

 

“ _But then I wouldn't have you in my apartment_ ,” Ray countered, and the Omega sounded so indignant that he had to smile. “ _And I'm kind of in the middle of this big campaign on COD right now with a serious amount of people and I don't want to get up but I'm hungry, you feel me? And we didn't get to hang out today a lot and you're fun to have around and you've been getting on me about my eating habits so pizza is off the table_ -” The boy cut off his rant. “ _Unless this is too clingy then you can just hang up._ ”

 

“I think I can come over and make you something,” Ryan replied flippantly. He could almost hear the way the boy squirmed at the implication of being taken care of like a child instead of a boyfriend. “Give me twenty minutes.”

 

“ _You don't have to,_ ” Ray stated, voice suddenly so small in his ear.

 

“I want to,” he promised the Omega. “You only owe me if you don't beat all their asses.”

 

“ _Deal, man._ ”

 

o0o0o0o

 

Ray would never admit to it but every time he knew that Ryan was coming over to hang out he turned the AC down from a decent 71 to a cool 55 or 50. He didn't have particularly malicious or devious intentions but it worked every time. Who was he to ignore a system that worked?

 

“The landlord regulates the temperature through the whole building, Rye. And we've got a delicate elderly couple upstairs. He doesn't want to bake the old people, man.”

 

It worked every time.

 

“Ray, you're freezing,” Ryan frowned, rubbing the Omega's arm. He grabbed the blanket off the back of the couch and dragged it over them both, insistently manhandling Ray up until he was practically in the Alpha's lap. “There's no reason for it to be this cold.”

 

“I'm alright,” Ray sighed, burrowing into the man's chest. He brought the blanket up to his nose and breathed in their combined scents, the mixing heat of their bodies giving him a happy buzz like nothing else could.

 

Some intense scenting and cuddling were small prices to pay for the bill he got every month.

 

o0o0o0o

 

The day was going slow for everyone. The hours dragged and there wasn't a lot of work to go around so there was a lot of waiting around for six to come around.

 

Ray stood behind Ryan in his chair, kind of bent over with his arms draped over the Alpha's shoulders and letting his hands lay across his broad chest. They talked quietly, joking around, the Omega's chin resting on his shoulder and digging in whenever the the older man made a bad pun. No one really batted an eye when they passed them and Lindsay kept shooting them knowing, please smiles. A thought came to him in the middle of Ryan explaining why Egoraptor's argument about _The Legend of Zelda_ being better than _Ocarina of Time_ had some legitimate points but he waited until he was finished before he voiced it.

 

“We were courting before this,” Ray teased, thumb tapping on top of the man's pec before he added a quiet, “Weren't we, _husband_?”

 

The inside joke made Ryan laugh lowly and reach up to touch the boy's hair. He got a little rub of the Omega's nose behind his ear. “Well _I_ was, wife, but you were very thick.”

 

“How was I supposed to know?” Ray scolded, clunking the side of their heads together. “Michael says we were dancing around each other for like half a year or something.”

 

“Sounds about right,” Ryan pointed out, clearing his throat. “Actually, I may have tried to show my intention a little too early. I don't think you noticed.”

Ray frowned a little. “What did you do?”

 

The Alpha swiveled his chair around a laid a hand on either side of the other's hips, staring up at him with a shy smile. “Do you remember when you forgot to switch accounts during that _Let's Play_ and you messed up your score?”

 

Ray wracked his brain. “Yeah, but the day after I realized it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought and I felt real dumb for flipping out over it.”

 

“Well...”

 

Ray's mouth fell open. “Ryan. What did you do?”

 

“I stayed that night,” Ryan started to confess, looking like a stealing child instead of an Alpha who was trying to help an Omega out. “I got onto your account and played a couple dozen rounds. I'm not as good as you but I got it back up to a decent number.” He saw the Omega's surprise and felt even more unsure. “You were so upset about it and I couldn't stand to see you like that. We weren't good friends yet so I didn't say anything...but it was worth it to see your face the next day. You were relieved and it felt good to help you, even if if you didn't know and it was only a small thing.”

 

Ray went soft and squishy on the inside at the sentiment. He'd never suspected, not back when he was unpresented and still lost in his uncertainty. “Did you seriously?”

 

Ryan nodded, a lock of hair flopping over his forehead. Ray swept it back and leaned down to peck a kiss between the Alpha's worried brows. “Could we have been doing this last year?”

 

“I think so, yeah.”

 

“We're losers,” Ray laughed, feeling a bit light headed to know that his interest had been returned that early. “We're dumb, stupid losers and we waited way too long for all this. And I'm really, _really_ embarrassed right now because I must have been _so_ fucking obvious.”

  
“Hey, none of that,” Ryan scooted up and lightly curled a hand along the back of the Omega's neck, brushing their noses and making the boy practically _melt_. Ray had to fight off the urge to climb into his lap and lose himself in the man's scent and the thick curve of his neck. “It's nothing to be embarrassed about. We're just taking our time and there's nothing wrong with that.”

 

Ray hummed in agreement. _Slow is good._

 

o0o0o0o

 

Ray didn't wear a lot of tight clothing by choice. It was a weird mix of not really wanting to be noticed and wanting to be comfortable. Hoodies, shorts, t-shirts. He sat around and played video games for a living so there was no reason to dress up. He liked to be able to move around as easily as possible, to take off at a run or jump at any moment without having to worry about being restricted or making wrinkles.

 

Ray was sprawled out on Ryan's couch, hood tucked over his head and socked feet kicked up on the arm. The Alpha tried to walk past him to go the kitchen for another round of soda but he was quick to grab a handful of loose denim that practically puddled around the man's thighs. “You're hiding your _ass_ ets, man. Get it? It's a butt thing.”

Ryan chuckled at him and tried to bat his hand away but he was insistent. “Seriously, Rye, what's up with all the dad jeans?”

 

The Alpha peered over his shoulder to look at the baggy material. “I don't know. I've never really thought about it. Clothes have never been a high priority for me.”

 

“Hm,” Ray gave the material another tug, feeling flirty and kind of daring so he squeezed the man's ass. The Alpha jumped but he couldn't hide the smile that curved his lips. “Well, we don't want people drooling after you.”

 

“Didn't stop you,” Ryan taunted sweetly, grinning knowingly down at his boy.

 

o0o

 

The next day at work, Gavin wolf whistled when Ryan bent over to put together his makeshift desk. “Damn, Rye-bread, did you pour those things on this morning?”

 

Ryan straightened up and gave the Omega a half hearted glare. “There are so many other asses you could be staring at.”

 

“Not in those jeans,” Michael remarked as he leaned back in his chair and laced his fingers behind his head. Denim clung to the Alpha's cheeks, hugging them much more than the usual pants he wore. The Omega made a show of reaching out dramatically and trying to touch it but he got a hard look from his older boyfriend and stopped. “Oh come on, Boss, you can't deny he looks real fuckin' nice in those.”

 

Geoff's smirk made the younger Alpha squirm self-consciously. “Yeah he does.”

 

“Stop talking about my man's ass,” Ray shouted over the sound of COD in his headphones, thumbs tapping furiously across the controller. “No homo.”

 

Gavin let his eyes linger on the firm swell of the Alpha's butt for a few moments longer before he turned around in his seat. “Lucky Ray.”

 

“Lucky Ryan,” Ryan corrected. “Eyes on your work, boys.”

 

At the end of the day, Ryan waited patiently by his car and was quick to snatch up the Omega that ran up to him. Ray slanted a kiss across his mouth and slipped his hands into his back pockets to give his ass a squeeze. It was the boldest the boy had ever been with him. His heart jumped and cock gave a valiant twitch all wrapped up in the tight jeans he had dug out of the back of his closet.

  
“If I get reactions like this, I'll wear these every day,” Ryan remarked, slipping his shades down from his hair and over his eyes.

 

“You better not,” Ray demanded, giving him a firm smack on the leg before pulling open the car door. “I don't have the time or the energy to beat all those people off you. Ryan the Sex Object Guy. Now get in the car, motherfucker, and let me kick your ass at _Halo_ and then you can school me on _Castlevania_.”

 

o0o0o0o

 

“Your turn to bring dinner.”

 

The words hadn't sounded so ominous when he's said them a few hours ago but when Ryan opened the door to see Ray standing there with two pizzas and a greasy bag of breadsticks his stomach lurched unpleasantly. It felt like he'd signed his own death sentence.

 

“My arteries hurt just looking at that.”

 

Ray hefted the boxes up with one hand, frowning. “This is the best I can do. I can't cook shit and this is from my favorite place. One of these even has all the vegetables you insist putting on pizza. So can I come in or not?”

 

The vulnerability in the Omega's voice and stance made Ryan put on a brave face and wave him inside. He wasn't sure about it, he didn't want to be sodium-hungover for work the next morning with a fucked up stomach, but when his boy flipped the lid it was like pure crack. The first greasy, perfect bite made him moan in gratitude. He kissed Ray's cheek in thanks and left a shiny little smear behind.

  
“It's great,” Ryan professed, happy to see his Omega preen under the praise. “A little junk food is good for the soul, right?”

 

o0o0o0o

 

The Lads started having their own game nights, declaring them “Alpha-Free Zones” and that their “old men” needed to find their own fun once or twice a week with just the boys. They played a bunch of _Halo_ and _Gears of War_ , breaking it up with rounds of different Nintendo games. They shot the shit and swapped stories. Michael and Gavin told Ray about how it felt like Geoff was courting both of them, a renewed honeymoon for the Jersey boy and a dream come true for the Brit. With their new relationship on the table and Ray expressing just how amazingly happy he was for them, the question of his own relationship coming up.

 

“He's great, seriously, guys,” Ray got a perfect kill and rolled behind some cover. “He brings me food and we hang out a lot, he sleeps over. We...” He could feel his cheeks burning. “He holds my hand. I used to think it was super dumb and girly but he's got really nice hands.”

 

“Jeez, man, gay up the place,” Michael muttered.

 

“Shut up!” he elbowed the older Omega hard enough to jolt the guy's avatar across screen.

 

“But how is he in bed?” Gavin pressed, his Omega boyfriend shooting him a seething look. “Oh come off it, Michael, you know I'm not going anywhere. Ryan's real fit and he looks like one of those blokes who would be a good shag. I wanna' know if he's treating my X-Ray right.”

 

“God, you and Ryan,” Michael scoffed, “If me, Geoff, and Ray weren't in the picture...”

 

“He's just my friend,” Gavin promised, leaning over Ray to smack a kiss on the paler Omega's cheek. “You guys are enough for me. Rye-bread's just a tasty morsel on the menu to look at.”

 

Ray batted him back into his own seat. “No ordering, asshole.”

 

“No ordering,” Gavin promised. “But really, boy, how far have you two made it? I bet he's eaten you out about a dozen times by now. Rye seems like the kind of Alpha who could spend hours between a nice pair of thighs like yours, X-Ray.”

 

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Ray flushed, thumb slipping on the toggle and sending his character into a casual walk that got him blown up straight away.

 

“Well?” Michael needled.

 

“Ryan and I haven't, you know, done anything,” Ray admitted slowly, hoping his friends wouldn't be dicks about it. “He's taking this courting thing seriously and slow is great and everything, but – I don't know. I don't want to ask him right out because I hinted at that once and he just smiled it off, told me he has a lot to prove before we get there. I know he knows my limits, and that he'd never push me, but I realized a couple days ago that I have zero idea how to rile him up.”

 

The Omega boyfriends shot him a puzzled look.

 

Ray sighed hard through his nose. “I don't know how to get him interested.”

 

“Christ, mate,” Gavin snorted, “You've already got him by the collar and the cock, what else can you do to the poor guy? He's practically falling all over himself to make you happy. What's he not doing?”

 

“He _is_ making me happy, dickhead! And he's doing everything just fine!” Ray snapped defensively, feeling stung by the shot at his Alpha's capability. “He's being a fucking gentleman and I can't help it if I want this whole thing to go faster because it's all I've been fantasizing about for like two years. I just want to be sexy or whatever and make him want me like – like Geoff wants you guys.”

 

Michael's face split into a grin and Gavin made a little coo that frustrated him more than anything else.

 

“Don't be assholes,” Ray growled, furiously killing them both in-game. “I just want to be like every other Omega and get their Alpha hot but I'm blanking here on how to do it so a little help and support would be nice.”

 

His scowl melted away when Gavin dropped a hand on his knee and Michael's nose dipped in to skim across his neck. He relaxed under their combined scents and his irritation was soothed.

 

“Follow our lead, dude, and we can have Ryan fucking you in the office in no time,” Michael promised with a filthy grin.

 

“No, Michael, he wants to _woo_ him,” Gavin corrected, reaching over and pinching the boy on the arm to get him to yelp and shut up. “A nice and proper seduction just to speed things up, yeah? You just follow our advice, boy, and we'll have you two like teenagers in no time.”

 

He saw the way they smirked at one another and it made him nervous. “Maybe you two weren't the best to ask advice from?”

“Who the hell else is going to do it?” Michael demanded, nipping him on the shoulder through his shirt like a punishment. “You're our best friend. This is what we're here for. Just stick with us and we'll steer you right.”

 

o0o

 

“ _You've got to rub against him. You two scent all the time and everything but copping a feel whe he's not expecting it is fucking fun and he's definitely going to remember it when he gets home if you get what I mean. If you can hit a sweet spot or get between his legs, go for it.”_

 

Ray took those words to heart and he upped his game. Every time he passed Ryan he made sure to either brush their hands or shoulders, keeping his expression innocent when the Alpha's eyes would cut to him. He would bump their hips whenever he had to move past him in the small space of their office. Any chance to press up against the man's back was firmly taken and exploited. When he stood behind Ryan at the older man's desk he would run his thumb along the thick line of his neck, pressing harder along the scent glands in a chaste excuse of just trying to ease his stress.

 

He found out Ryan's tension sat in his neck at the base of his hairline so he abused it whenever he got a chance, rubbing his thumbs in firm soothing circles until he got his Alpha to purr in his chair. Ryan would always be more tactile after on those days and it made the winks and playful meows Barb and Lindsay threw at them totally worth it.

 

On one of their movie nights Ray dumped the popcorn and Cokes into his boyfriend's lap ( _boyfriend_ was still such a new word and he starting to really love it) and then plopped down on the floor between the man's knees.

 

Ryan sat up and frowned down at the top of the Omega's head. “What are you doing down there?”

 

“I like it down here,” Ray replied as casually as he could muster, titling his head back so it rested against the the Alpha's inner thigh. He suppressed a smile when Ryan's breath hitched noisily. “I'm feeling real Omega tonight. It's not like I'm in a collar and you're feeding me scraps or anything. I can reach the popcorn. Hand me my drink though.”

 

Ryan automatically obeyed, the boy chirping happily as he took it and kissed the man's inner wrist. The movie was put on and Ray relaxed, curling a hand over Ryan's calf and tossing the other behind his head to drape across Ryan's lap. It was a lazy recline and he practically absorbed the Alpha's warmth. Half a bowl of popcorn later, a hand that was probably speckled in butter and salt started petting through his hair. He nudged up into the touch with a happy sigh, encouraging it, hoping it would stay.

 

About halfway through the movie the Alpha tucked his knees a little tighter on either side of the Omega's shoulders and dug his fingers a little deeper into soft locks. “You look good down there, Ray.”

 

The Omega grinned but kept his eyes on the screen, a grunt of agreement passing his lips. He started getting a swarm of pleasant flutters all through his gut and up into his head, swirling between his temples, making his fingers and toes tingly. He thought of turning around, nosing at the curve of the Alpha's cock through his pants, maybe try and push it a little further. But there was a trickle of cold fear in his belly that told him he wasn't ready yet – actually touching another dick was still a far-off thought. He'd only ever fooled around with girls and Ryan was a _man_ , tall and broad with a very real knot that he was both afraid to see and eager to touch. But this felt like a step in the right direction.

 

It also felt like he was going to sleep easy after this.

 

o0o

 

“ _You have good legs on you, X-Ray. Just kind of – you know – sprawl a bit, yeah? Show a little of what you got. Blokes want a bit of a tease, want to see what they can have if they try hard enough. I've got some pants that'll fit you real tight and nice._ ”

 

Ray wasn't too sure about this one but the opportunity came during an AHWU where Jack and Geoff took up the middle of the room to read from the scripts and the rest of them waited around to start a _Let's Play._ Ryan was lounging patiently on his couch, resting really, letting his set up boot properly. The temporary desk and the Omega's own were catty-cornered from one another so he had a good line of sight.

 

Ray leaned back in his chair and stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets, hood pulled up to cover his ears and hair from the mild chill of the room. He'd worn the jeans Gavin had let him borrow and the rain that was pattering against the windows was as good excuse as any. The other Lads had shot him twin, knowing winks the minute they saw him but he just let it go in favor of putting his brief plan into action. Catching Ryan's eye, he blew the Alpha a kiss and _that_ kept his attention. Slowly, too slowly to be blatantly obvious, Ray let his thighs fall apart. It was casual, just the recline of a bored kid waiting to play video games.

 

Ryan's mouth gaped and he watched with some surprise as the Omega sprawled so invitingly. A hand slipped out of a pocket and slid across his thigh, coming up to carelessly adjust himself within the tight denim. The material clung to him in a way that didn't leave much the imagination and Ryan could feel a heat stirring up deep inside.

 

“Okay! Lads, Gents, you guys ready?” Geoff asked as Kdin flipped off the camera.

 

Ryan actually snapped out of it so hard he practically yelled _what_ and Michael howled with laughter.

 

o0o

 

“ _Let me tell you what I did to Geoff once, man. Gav did it first but I made it better and here's how..._ ”

 

Ryan found his boyfriend's front door unlocked so he walked in without knocking. The apartment smelled like Febreeze over old take out boxes and cheap soap with a heavy curl of vanilla under all of it. (He made a note to buy the Omega some soap that complimented his scent.) He liked the place even if it wasn't the best quality and the landlord sometimes cranked the AC too high. It was starting to feel a little like home with all the times he'd stayed over and all the evenings they'd hung out. It was a Saturday and they had a whole day to waste together.

 

Ray was in the middle of the living room floor, murdering like a pro on COD with his thumbs clacking lightning fast on the buttons. It almost sounded like music. The Omega was standing on his knees, bare feet wiggling with the adrenaline of a kill streak. Ryan chuckled in amusement but the sound died off as his eyes trailed up from the soft, bare soles of his feet to the long calves and up to the plump curves of his thighs. Blonde brows shot up in surprise when he saw the harsh, frayed line cutting off just below the boy's ass. They were the shortest shorts he'd ever seen the Omega wear and they were _so_ fitting. Usually his boy wore loose clothing and he was alright with that but the other day with the jeans and now these small denim shorts...he had a lot of material to day dream with.

 

Ray looked over his shoulder briefly and flashed him a smile before going back to his game. “I didn't know you'd be over this early.”

 

“I finished up my errands early.”

 

“Mmmhmm.” The Omega shifted his weight, ass flexing wonderfully under the clinging material. “You and your old man stuff. Let me finish up here and we can fight it out _Tekken_ style.”

 

“Take your time.” Ryan slowly walked over to the couch and sat down, unable to look from the other. “So...those shorts.”

 

“Dude, don't make fun of me,” Ray whined distractedly. “Gavin gave me a pair of old jeans and they were ripped up on the knees, so I tried to cut them into shorts but I fucked up. I'd trash 'em but they're super fucking comfy.”

 

“You're not going to wear them outside, right?” Ryan couldn't help but ask. “Or the office?”

 

“Why?” Ray shook his hips for a second, smirking when he practically heard the Alpha gulp. “Are they distracting?”

 

“They're cute,” Ryan admitted, voice dropping an octave. “Why don't you come over here and finish?”

  
“Why, sir,” Ray purred suggestively. The Alpha rolled his eyes before patting his lap. “Okay, hold up.”

 

Ray got to a place where he could got a few moments of load time and jumped up to his feet, backing up with his eyes on the screen so he could park on the couch. But wide palms settled on his hips and dragged him onto the Alpha's lap. He settled in comfortably and reveled in the feeling of the man's hands and the chin on his shoulder, their height differences making themselves known in the best way.

 

After a whole campaign of squirming and victory whoops, he started to feel something underneath him. It took him a minute to realize it wasn't a phone or a wallet but the growing swell of the Alpha's dick. He gasped softly and nearly lost his grip on the controller. He subconsciously ground down against it, lashes fluttering as he thought of what could be beneath it.

 

Ryan moved with him for just a moment, a single roll of his hips, but then clamped his hands on his waist and held him still. “Oh God, Ray, I'm sorry-”

 

“It's alright, man-”

 

“I didn't mean to-”

 

“Really, it's fine-”

 

They both shut their mouths and two sets of cheeks burned hot, both embarrassed. Ray refused to let this all be a waste so he tossed his controller aside and turned around in the man's lap, straddling him properly and laying his hands on the Alpha's chest to make him lean back against the couch. Ryan exhaled loudly and his hands fell onto the boy's thighs. Thumbs brushed along the line of his shorts, slowly tracing the material to the inside where the skin was pale and soft.

 

“Want to make out on the couch for a bit?”

 

Ryan nodded wordlessly. Ray blanketed the Alpha's hands and moved them around to cup his ass, the flex of his fingers bringing a soft sound out of him. It was so natural to slot together and kiss, to touch, to pant lightly against each other's lips and slowly rock together.

 

Half hard and uncomfortably warm, they let the screen flash and the minutes tick away while they languidly enjoyed each other. The sun streaks that spilled in from the window slowly crept across the carpet and both their phones buzzed quietly with ignored texts but they didn't care.

 

Ray put his plans on hold and scented with the Alpha, letting time melt away while he let the man take care of him.

 

o0o

 

“ _Rub your scent on everything. Make sure he can't stop think about you. Make it bloody impossible._ ”

 

Every time Ray was alone in Ryan's apartment he made sure to brush himself against something. The pillows on the bed and couch were scrubbed against his chest and neck and hair the second he could without being caught. He used Ryan's hair brush and touched the walls and counters as much as possible, leaving a few of his hoodie jackets draped over the back of the couch and hung up behind the door but never on the floor because the Alpha hated clutter that wasn't electronic or literature-based.

 

But it kind of turned around on him because Ryan had a few of those same kind of zip hoodies that were half his age and super soft, like the kind he'd given him while he was changing and when he'd been upset. There were a few of them and Ryan let him wear them as often as he wanted but the Omega ended up giving them back once they stopped smelling like the Alpha. And every time, without fail, Ryan would smirk and give him another.

 

While he left his scent all over Ryan's house, he was sitting in his apartment wrapped up in the Alpha's jacket and very little else ruining his eyes in the dark playing video games.

 

o0o

 

It seemed like every time Ray tried to bend over in front of Ryan or kind of show off the assets (if he could call his body an asset) the guy would either be not looking or would have walked off. But everyone else seemed to be tuned in to what he was doing and he had to tell both Chris and Blaine that he wasn't trying to flirt he was just really bad at it and it wasn't aimed at them _but I'm flattered, guys, really._

 

Geoff declared lunch with great enthusiasm and everyone gave a triumphant cheer, headphones and controllers getting tossed onto desks. Ryan, Geoff, and Gavin had botched a _Things to Do_ three times in a row so they were ready to stop. Ray decided this was his chance and, once he was sure Ryan could see him, he stretched his arms high above his head and groaned like it was a relief to move. He'd worn a super tight t-shirt under his jacket today and he felt it ride up above his belly button. He gave an unnecessary flex of his stomach before slumping back down regularly. His smile faded once he realized Ryan had already left.

 

But Jack was looking. He had a smirk on his face and his arms were crossed over hic chest, brow raised at the Omega as if to say _you little slut_ in the most friendly way possible. “He went to get some stuff for his headache.”

 

“Oh,” Ray deadpanned, “Well, dude, did _you_ enjoy it?”

 

The Beta gave him a thumbs up. “Ten out of ten, would look again.”

 

o0o

 

Ray somehow let himself get dragged into Gavin's room with a very drunk set of Omega boyfriends. They needled him about how their advice had been going and he said it had gone fine and that he was still putting it all in place.

 

“I bet Ryan's got a thick dick,” Micheal commented while Gavin was setting up Hulu so they could gorge on the _The Guild_ until they passed out. “Dude, Ray, do not jump on it right away. It took me weeks to actually get Geoff's dick in me. You gotta' take that shit slow. And don't let him knot you until you're fucking ready, it's way better that way. You've got to really trust an Alpha to let them do that. But when you do it take the knot early because once it gets big it kind of hurts, and if you wait _way_ too long it's impossible and even if you get off it's not satisfying. 'Cause once you decide you want it, nothing else is going to do it for you.”

 

Ray gaped at the Jersey boy but Gavin just nodded eagerly.

 

“And try to be on top the first time,” the Brit commented, flicking through Hulu. “You need to be at your pace 'cause it's difficult to take bigger blokes.”

 

“And when you go down on him,” Michael cut in loudly. “Pressure and enthusiasm are much more important than being an expert or whatever. Alphas love it when you're into it and you get messy.”

 

“Oi,” Gavin glanced over his shoulder at the beet-red Lad, “When he does get up the balls to eat you out like we _all_ bloody knows he wants to – put a pillow under your hips. You're going to be there a while and you want to be comfortable, yeah? That goes for getting it on your back too. Sore hips are no joke.”

 

Michael stopped mid-swig of beer when he remembered something. “And bite them back. Don't be one of those shitty passive Omegas who just lays there. Fucking make him earn it, dude. Leave some marks. Rye seems like the kind of guy who would get off on that.”

 

Gavin cooed at the idea. “He'd look good with some of Ray's marks. Maybe pull his hair a bit – I'd bet money he'd like that.”

 

The beer swished as Michael drained the dregs. “And when you're going down on him take it about an inch at a time, make it wet, it's easier to get it all down when you bob a bit.”

 

“Unless you have a shitty gag reflex,” the Brit commented, referring to his own.

 

Michael pointed an accusing finger at his boyfriend. “We're going to work on that, asshole. You're going to suck dick like a pro when I'm done with you.”

 

Gavin's cheeks got red. “Michael!”

 

“I am!” the other Omega declared. “I'm going to share all the tricks I know and I'm getting some of that cool numbing throat spray stuff and you're going to learn.” He paused. “Once you're ready, I mean.”

 

Gavin went from uncertain to simpering sweetly. “Oh, Michael.”

 

His boyfriend preened before he turned to Ray and started again. “You're going to want to work your way up with toys and fingers and stuff if Ryan's big.”

 

“Jesus, guys, cut it out!” Ray yelled, blushing furiously and trying to cover it up but that was impossible when it was all over his ears and down his neck. “How fucking far do you think we've been? Rye and I are going slow, remember? I asked for advice to get _interested_ , not fuck me in public or whatever.”

 

“What?” Gavin squawked. “Has he not really gone down at all on you?”

 

“We're not _there_ , man. Fuck.”

 

“Huh,” the Brit huffed thoughtfully.

 

“Fucking Christ, man, what do you guys do together?” Michael snapped, completely befuddled. “You guys fuckin' scent each other whenever you're in the same room for more than five minutes. How are you not gettin' off on the regular?”

 

“We're just...” Ray scoffed. “You know what, fuck it. Just fuck off.”

 

The boyfriends exchanged a look before two intense set of eyes darted back to him. “But you were listening, right?”

 

“ 'Cause that's all important bits, X-Ray.”

 

The Lad tried to put on a face of not giving a shit but he broke, he always broke. “Yeah, yeah, I'm writing it all down. Chill out.”

 

o0o

 

“ _Your scent's sweet anyway, X-Ray. But it's kinda' light, like dessert biscuits. So if you eat sweet stuff it'll help boost it up. Make it hard for him not to lick you. But don't do that lolly stuff because that's weird and you need red lipstick if you want to pull it off. Do...do you want to wear lipstick?_ ”

 

Ray loved sweets, he really did, but he was starting to upset his stomach with all the cookies and candy bars. Ryan would compliment him every time he gorged but it wasn't working as well as he'd hoped. Eventually he got nauseous and just dumped all the candy out of his desk and into the garbage can. With just Jack and Michael doing some editing in the office he curled up on the couch with one of Ryan's sweatshirts as a pillow.

 

“What's up in here?” the Alpha asked, coming in to check up on his boy. He sat down beside Ray and saw the can along with the way he was cradling his stomach. “Ah. Well, honey, you ate a pound of sugar. Stretch out your legs. Thatta' boy.”

 

Ray ended up on his back with his arm thrown over his eyes and soft grunts of discomfort coming out of him. Ryan had taken the boy's legs and draped them over his lap, one hand on his calf while the other rubbed the Omega's stomach to help the ache there. When Geoff tried to get him up to edit his Achievement Guide, Ryan growled the other Alpha off and told him to give him some time.

 

Geoff threw up his hands, “Far be it from me to interfere with the cute new couple just because I'm your fucking _boss_ or whatever.”

 

But he left them alone once he saw Ray's pale face.

 

o0o

 

The ultimate chance to tease Ryan came with Lindsay's help. She arrived at work with a shit ton of sheet cake from her cousin's wedding and it was the good stuff. People started gathering around the open kitchen area, cutting it up and eagerly passing it around. Ray refused it with a firm hand.

 

“I didn't forget about you, X-Ray!” Lindsay sang out, pulling another flat box out of the pile and flipping it open. Inside was an array of gourmet cupcakes from the only bakery he would eat cake from. The icing was a rich red and the swirls were perfect and it made his mouth water.

 

“Okay. This is acceptable.”

 

It was an impromptu office-wide break and they all chatted and shoveled cake into their faces with a large array of happy sounds. Ray listened to Geoff tell a story about the “good old days” while dissecting the cupcake on his plate. He had one knee on a chair and was leaning on his elbows on the counter, bent over a bit for no other reason than to hear the Alpha better. Michael and Gavin had a lot of commentary to add and it was amusing to see the Gent's face get flustered under his mustache.

 

While Michael and Geoff bickered about whether or not traveling with a band counted as being _in_ a band, the Brit leaned over and winked at Ray. “Look who's watching.”

 

Ray nibbled some cake off his thumb, brows knitting over his eyes. “Who?”

 

“Your favorite Alpha.”

 

Ray didn't have time to glance over before Gavin had pulled away and was waving the Alpha over, demanding his input. He was relieved when Ryan came up with red cheeks and darkened, obviously having seen something he liked. Energy and determination renewed, Ray started in on a new cupcake while the Gent got roped into the conversation. He scooped the icing off the top and licked it off without being gratuitous. He kept his eyes on the table in a parody of boredom while he slid his finger out of his mouth, cheeks hollowing and lips tight around the digit to get the stickiness off. He lapped at the scarlet clinging to the lines in his knuckles, biting at his sugary fingernail, and then took another scoop. He did this a few times, smiling like anything as he took a water bottle from Brandon (who demanded that they down this with water so no one went into a sugar coma), but never looked at Ryan.

 

Ray waited until he had two fingers sliding between his lips before he raised his gaze to the Alpha, batting his eyes when the man got choked up and his words cut off.

 

“I-I gotta' go.”

 

“Oh I bet you do,” Geoff whistled after the younger Alpha while he beat his retreat. “Damn, kid, you're going to give him a heart attack. Shit, you might give _me_ a heart attack.”

 

Ray didn't care that he chittered like a happy Omega in front of his friends because it was in victory.

 

o0o0o0o

 

Ray hummed along with the radio as he rose with Ryan to the Alpha's house. Kerry and Miles were going to meet them there and the four of them were going to battle it out Mario style. Kerry was bringing over all his game systems and every copy of Super Smash Bros. he had. Mario Kart, Mario Party 4, Super Mario Sunshine, the works. Maybe it would be an _RT Life_ but it would depend on how everything went. Somewhere between leaving the gate and the first light on the main street, their hands had gravitated toward one another and now their fingers were kissing.

 

“I know what you've been doing,” Ryan stated out of the blue. “Michael and Gavin coped up to _helping_ you. They said you were trying to seduce me.”

 

Ray sputtered out a few excuses, mostly just aborted words and half-hearted explanations that he would never and that the Lads are full of shit.

 

“Would you like to be more physical?” Ryan asked in that stupid calm, adult way he had. It wasn't patronizing and it wasn't too serious, it was a simple question that had a world of meaning behind it. He liked when the Alpha simplified stuff like this but it frustrated him because he always felt like he was blowing things out of proportion.

 

“I like what we're doing, I just want to throw that out there,” Ray assured him. “But yeah, I would. Do you?”

 

Ryan hummed and nodded, sunlight glinting off his sunglasses. The Alpha let go of his hand and moved it down to curl high along his thigh, fingers teasing the inner seam of his jeans. Ray made a small noise of surprise but it made his heart skip a beat. There was real smile on his face, the hint of a dimple popping while the deep laugh lines showed themselves. “We can do that.”

 

Ray touched the back of the Alpha's hand and found it overly warm from the sun and perfect there on his leg. “You're the best, man.”

 

“Nah.”

 

* * *

 

**Big thanks to everyone who submitted suggestions for this chapter. Could NOT have done it without you. This chapter i rated very soft M, but the next is hard M. Two parts, lots of stuff, very things. If you have any sexy-but-not-sex stuff you want to see, or any courting stuff, or any suggestions at all -[hit me up](http://emono-omae.tumblr.com/).**

**Very super sorry it took me this long. I was writing a huge chapter for my Royal!verse fic and it took over and lots of things and excuses - hope you enjoyed :)**

 

 

 


	60. Ryan and Ray - Courting, Part II

**Sixty chapters in and I'm just now pointing this out because I don't want anyone confused:**   
**o0o = scenes happen very shortly after each other, back to back or at the same time**   
**o0o0o0o = more time has passed, maybe a day or two or a week.**

**Big super smutty thank you to[MXD](http://archiveofourown.org/users/MXD/pseuds/MXD) for providing about two of these scenes. Go read their stuff. Also silverfox, snooshie, and especially [catastrophecat ](http://catastrophecat-the-squid.tumblr.com/)who made an amazing canon for Omegavere with an emphasis on the unexplored aspects of Female Alphas and the interesting bits on Male Omegas. I forgot to do a post on that, darling, but I'm going to clean it up and put it up tonight sometime and link it in the next chap.  
**

 

* * *

 

Shared mornings felt like sweet secrets between them, inspiring the same kind of giddy feeling Ray got from holding the Alpha's hand in the car. It was mostly quiet. Ryan was always heavy eyed and slow to start in the morning, usually content to stay buried in the warmth of the blankets with the Omega in his arms. He was completely useless before his shower.

 

The mirror in Ryan's bathroom was truly adult in the way it stretched the full length of the long sink. It was steamy around the edges from the Alpha's long shower but the couple could clearly see themselves. Ray carefully ran the razor over the lather on his neck, each scrape taking away another line of the light beard he'd managed to grow.

 

He was about one-fourth through it when Ryan stepped up beside him and started scratching through his own beard. It was a thick like a scruffy lion. He had let it go on a lot longer than normal. The harsh bathroom lighting dyed it a dark strawberry blonde. Ray loved how it looked but the Alpha's frown showed he didn't think too highly of it. With a irritated huff, Ryan took his own shaving stuff out from beneath the sink and started lining them up on the edge. He plugged in his clippers and fished inside a small black bag for the right attachment.

 

“Aw, don't shave it.” He whined the words before he could swallow them down. “I mean, do whatever you want, but you look good with it.”

 

“Really?” Ryan squinted into the mirror, fingers digging in the scruff. He glanced at the Omega with a small smile and took out a longer attachment. “I'll trim it up then.”

 

Ray finished his face and rinsed with cold water, his cheeks and neck tingly from the sensation. When he straightened up he got a good look at himself in the mirror and was surprised by how _not awful_ it seemed. He looked a lot younger without facial hair. He used to hate it, which is why he had cut off all his hair when he turned twenty and tried to grow a beard, but as an Omega it kind of fitted him. He tilted his head back and forth to really look it over.

 

“It's going to be a pain in the ass to keep up but what do you think?”

 

 _God,_ it just felt nice to have someone to ask about stuff like this. He looked up at the Alpha and the man was smiling, knuckles reaching out to run against the boy's smooth cheek.

 

“I like it a lot.”

 

o0o0o0o

 

Staying at each other's houses meant leaving things behind. When Ryan started to get too comfortable in a space he would plop his stuff down _wherever_ , and splitting that between three places got the Alpha turned around half the time. Losing things became a chore. Ray caught on pretty quick and made a mental list of what to keep his eye on. Keys, wallet, phone, the small notebook Ryan would write things to do in, drinks, snacks, pens, and glasses. Any chance he had to ease the Alpha's frustration was taken.

 

Like now.

 

Ryan patted down his pockets for the third time, fingers plucking at his belt loops like he would find the D-ring clipped to them. He'd even put his glasses on after a few minutes of searching. His hair was a wreck from where he'd brushed it out this morning and his lower lip was chapped from all the compulsive chewing.

 

Ray was neck deep in the newest _Castlevania_ game but he already pretty much hated it. It wasn't nearly as fun as whipping out the old systems and sitting on his boyfriend's lap, taking suggestions and letting the man nibble his ear while he got his ass whooped by Medusa heads and skeletons. He wasn't paying attention at first but after twenty minutes of the Alpha silently stalking through the house, he caught on.

 

“We're gonna' be late, man,” Ray called absently, eyes flicking to the clock on his screen before going back to the brightly colored but plot-dull action. “Whatever it is can wait until later.”

 

“I can't find my keys,” Ryan finally admitted, standing at the end of the couch with pursed lips and a wide stance.

 

“Oh, is that all?” Ray turned the game off and stuffed his DS in his pocket. “They're on the fridge next to my cereal, Rye. Let's go.”

 

Ryan blinked at the Omega once, twice, then turned and spotted a familiar gleam of silver on the fridge top. “How did you...?” His confusion gave way to a content smile. “Get your shoes on, brat.”

 

o0o0o0o

 

“Do you trust me?”

 

The loaded question was easy to answer. “Of course I do.”

 

Ryan turned off the Xbox and the TV before scooping Ray up into his arms bridal style, the easy show of strength taking the breath out of the Omega. He was carried into the Alpha's bedroom and sat on the edge of the mattress. Their shared kiss was surprisingly chaste while they stripped down, the air growing thick as their bodies responded to the heat of one another and the anticipation of the moment. They hadn't done anything like this before and it was already intoxicating. The closeness, the light huff of their breaths, the quiet of the night – it was _romantic_.

 

“We're not going to do anything,” Ryan promised, kissing below the Omega's ear, hooking his fingers in each side of the boy's shorts. “But I want to try something new. Just go with it, okay? I won't do what you don't want and I'll stop if you get too uncomfortable.”

 

Ray nodded and tugged at his shirt. “Let's do it.”

 

They went down to their boxers nearly fused at the mouth, the Alpha cupping his boy's chin and sweeping his tongue through his sweet mouth. It was the first time Ray had seen his boyfriend shirtless and he couldn't help but run his hand over the new skin, letting his neck get kissed so he could see it properly. Ryan's chest was pale and firm under his palm, a thin layer of soft squish over his ribs where his own skin stretched almost too thin. Ray pressed his fingers into it and hummed happily at the give. There was some softness around the Alpha's middle from age but when he bore down there was pure muscle hiding underneath. The shapely curve of Ryan's arms grew into nice, pale shoulders that had faint freckles stained into them from working long hours in the Georgia sun all that time ago. There was a gold dusting of hair across it, much more than his own, and when he scratched through it the man sighed against his ear. He almost wanted to cover his chest when the Alpha started looking as well but that was ridiculous. Ryan had seen him nearly naked before but this was different than when he was becoming an Omega.

  
“Lay out, get comfortable.” The order was soft but he still felt that little compulsion to obey in the back of his mind. Ray scooted up on the bed and stretched out, propping his head up on the pillows. Ryan's bed always smelled so warm and safe like a simmered down version of the man's own scent. The street light outside the window peaked through the blinds and let him see the bare chested Alpha in all his glory. Tall and wide in all the right places, hair a little mussed but his well-groomed beard giving him a more mature air that made the Omega feel so small upon the bed.

 

 _Ryan's nest._ The heart of his home where his scent was strongest. Ray had been here before on their sleepover nights but it felt like an abused privilege, something he should thank the other for. This was trust and the emotion in the Alpha's eyes was so close _love._ The slow way he knelt on the bed showed _respect_ and a hundred other tender things he couldn't name.

 

Ryan's languid crawl up the boy's body put heat in them both. He didn't touch Ray anymore than necessary, hovering above him on his hands and knees. His gaze was as kind as his smile. The ease of the motions put the Omega's nerves to rest because if he couldn't trust this man – who could he trust?

 

“I want to get your body used to my touch,” Ryan murmured, one hand coming off the bed to gently take the Lad's glasses and set them on the bedside table. “It's like scenting but slower, and _more_. One word and I stop. Remember that.”

 

“Yeah,” Ray croaked, clearing his throat and trying again. “What do you need me to do?”

 

“Whatever feels natural.”

 

Ray mulled over the vague answer but his uncertainty was wiped out under the pressure of the Alpha's reassuring kiss. “Okay.”

 

As usual, Ryan destroyed his expectations. What he thought was maybe a push for sex started out as something he was overly-familiar with. The Alpha's nose and fingers brushed through his hair at first, light kisses raining down upon his temples. Their cheeks were scrubbed together in a way that made Ray chirp, the man's beard burning his skin in the best way he could ask for. It was just instinct to rub back, his hands sweeping over Ryan's shoulders and through golden hair. Their noses bumped playfully before another peck was dropped on his lips. The Alpha started to mouth at his jaw, canines _just_ teasing the gland beneath his jaw.

 

There were flickers of a new sensation as Ryan ran a hand down his arm and let his teeth graze over his pulse. Ray closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on it. He was kind of turned on and his dick was showing some interest but this felt _deeper_. Like sinking into a warm bath with cold skin. The first chug of Monster in the morning, eating a good meal after a long day of cheap snacks. All those pleasant, life-making feelings were welling up within him.

 

Ryan paid special attention to the scent glands buried under his skin, seeming to know which ones to nip and which ones to bite down a little harder on. The rush of hormones made the Omega flush but there was a lazy smile on his face. “Feels good, Rye.”

 

Ryan hummed in the hollow of his throat, pleased that he could do this for his Omega. It was something he had tried with past partners but had never finished – too much intimacy involved for both parties. More than a heat could bring. With that in mind, he dared to travel lower until his lips met one of the boy's nipples. They were so small and dark. He loved them instantly. One damp swipe of his tongue and it perked up for him. Ray made a sound between a laugh and a huff above him. “Is this alright?”

 

“God, more than alright,” Ray promised, arm curling up over his head so he could clutch the pillow and subconsciously open his body up more to the Alpha. He was smiling despite his slight embarrassment. “No one's ever done that before. I didn't know I liked it.”

 

“Good,” he muttered, giving the dark skin another lick to feel it pebble under his touch. The tuft of hair on the boy's chest was fluffy when he carded through it. He moved on from there, running his hands down the boy's sides and letting his thumbs drag along the meat of his stomach. There was very little definition in the Omega's body but it was all so incredibly _soft_ , the change plumping the boy up around the thighs and hips in a way that made his mouth water and his teeth itch. Ryan wanted so badly to bite and mark up his potential mate but he knew that tonight was about mixing their scents, getting to know one another more bodily. Instead he peppered wet kisses over Ray's stomach and ribs. Every buss seemed to send Ray further into his own head. The Lad was so easily scent drunk and this must have felt like drowning.

 

Scent marking like this was about letting everything go and enjoying each other, and that was exactly what he intended to do.

 

Ray's lashes fluttered as he came up for air, senses plugging back in and the dense fog of _Alpha_ clearing enough for him to realize he was moving. Faint hushing noises fought down the instinctive bolt of concern and it left only curiosity behind. He scooted his head further up the pillow to watch with breathless delight as Ryan eased between his thighs. Though he whimpered at the sight, nothing had ever felt effortless as parting his legs for the Alpha to settle between. Capable fingers slowly massaged up along his kneecap until they pressed into the back of his knee with a touch that was firm enough not to tickle. Ryan's hands had to be radiating something magical because he was going all liquid under him with every stroke. It wasn't purposefully sexual, not yet. Not with the way the man's thumbs were rubbing deep circles into the back of his thigh and releasing knots he didn't know he had. He squirmed down flat on his back and let the man do whatever he wanted, limbs pliant for him to move around.

 

Blue eyes cut through the darkness and locked with his own, refusing to look away as he lifted the boy's leg up.

 

“Rye?”

 

Ryan hushed him in a gentle command that made his heart skip a beat. Ray made a small noise in the back of his throat and it built, layering, getting louder as the Alpha slowly scrubbed his beard across the Lad's inner thigh. It was lisurely, deliberate, and it brought goosebumps all across Ray's skin. He was beyond thankful that he had convinced the older man to keep the beard because it was _glorious._ The sensation made him tingle all over, sending shivers through his legs and up into his stomach. Then he started kissing, teeth dragging on a sweet spot he didn't know he had. _Sparks_. His body was humming like a machine, that feeling growing as a kiss was pressed upon the reddened flesh before attention was turned to the other thigh.

 

“Fuck,” Ray grunted as he fidgeted around, the sensation almost too much.

 

A hand slid over his quivering stomach. “Settle, Omega.”

 

The words were straight out of a cheesy teenage romance novel and he ate it up. There was a pleasant buzz in his ears and his eyes drooped, half-hard cock throbbing dully in his boxers as Ryan rubbed his belly with a coo of _good boy_. Yes, he could be good. He'd be so good for the Alpha.

 

Then Ryan moved further down and ran his fingers over the thick band of his underwear.

 

“Do you want to leave these on?” Ryan asked in that controlled, gentle tone that kept the Omega's nerves down to almost non-existent.

 

Ray nodded wordlessly, teeth catching his lip for a few moments to leave it red and shiny. The new tremble in his chest told him he wasn't ready yet. God, he wanted to be, but he didn't want to ruin anything by diving in too early. He got a light kiss below his belly button like an unneeded apology.

 

“Okay,” Ryan whispered understandingly, nuzzling at the curve of the boy's belly button. “Can I keep going or do you want to stop?”

 

“Don't stop. I...I like it.”

 

Ryan massaged down the Omega's legs for a while longer. He scented the inside of his thighs, nosing up the line of his boxers to drop chaste kisses near the blood-hot crook where his leg and groin met. Ray started to run his fingers through the Alpha's hair right before he was urged to turn over onto his stomach. The Omega purred, not giving a shit how sore his chest would be from it tomorrow. Broad palms worked over his shoulders and down the wings of his back, the length of his spine rubbed so well that the last of his strength melted away. He was puddy on the mattress, arms cuddling the pillow he rested his head on.

 

Suckling kisses were laid across his back as his sides were massaged, fingertips dancing over his ribs before digging in sweetly in the swell of muscles in his lower back. Lips followed each caress, sensitizing and sealing in the scent. It was worshipful as well as hypnotizing. If Ryan was trying to weave a spell on his body and mind then it had worked and he was more than happy to fall under it.

 

The Alpha's forehead dropped to the middle of Ray's back and he felt him breathe very deeply. “This is better than I could've ever imagined.”

 

Ray buried his red cheek further in the pillow. “You imagined this?”

 

“All the time,” Ryan admitted with an airy chuckle. “Since I wrapped my jacket around you all that time ago. I saw you calm from just my scent, a pretty unpresented boy, and I couldn't stop thinking about you right here...with me.”

 

Ray sluggishly flipped over on his back and stared down at the Alpha's earnest face. He grabbed the man by the shoulders and dragged him up into a kiss. He wrapped his arms and legs around Ryan, chirping like a classic pleased Omega at the feeling of all that bare skin on his. His embrace was returned, hands resting on his back and ass to cradle him close. They slowly moved against one another, satisfied with just the unhurried grind despite the plump bulges in their underwear. This was more about comfort than getting off.

 

Soon their panting softened and their kisses grew briefer, lighter, and then they stopped moving altogether. Ray tugged on Ryan's hair until the Alpha just snuggled down into his neck, a little scent drunk himself and very tired from the long day. Their limbs tangled up, the heat of one another making the blanket useless. There was a few murmured words before their eyes fell shut for good.

 

o0o

 

It was an amusing morning in Ryan's house.

 

They groggily woke up to the Alpha's cell ringing and Geoff yelling at them to get their asses to work. Two sets of eyes shot to the clock and they startled when they realized it was noon. While they rushed to get dressed and hurriedly brush their teeth, Ryan explained that deeply scenting like that and going to sleep wasn't his brightest idea. Snoozing through the alarm was common after doing something like that. He got a punch in the arm before they jumped in the car.

 

Ray was finishing off his first Monster when someone whistled at him. He turned in his chair, can still to his lips, eyes narrowed at a grinning Jack.

 

“I didn't know you were one of the Gents.”

 

Ray frowned thoughtfully and lowered the can, following the Beta's gaze to his shirt. It was Ryan's Team Gents shirt covered by one of the Alpha's old hoodie jackets. He'd scooped both things up off the floor in their mad scramble to get ready. Everything in Ryan's room smelled like old brick ovens – how the hell was he supposed to tell the difference between their clothes anymore?

 

“Watch your back, Jack, I'm gunnin' for you,” Ray teased back.

 

About an hour later when Ryan came in for a _Let's Play_ , Ray found himself frowning again. “Is that my shirt?”

 

Ryan looked down at his chest and plucked at the tight material, one of Ray's plain red shirts that the Omega had actually worn the day before. “Oh.”

 

“You're kind of busting out of that, buddy,” Michael remarked, eyeing the way the Alpha's arms strained against the material. “You gonna' need some help wriggling out of it?”

 

Ryan flicked the mated Omega in the head. “I'm perfectly capable.”

 

“Here.” Ray handed the hoodie jacket over and the Gent took it gratefully. “Cover those guns up before you kill someone.”

 

Ryan made a show of flexing until he got the younger man to laugh. “Put it away, big guy, before I start charging money.”

 

Michael wolf whistled and waved his wallet. A plushie Vaporeon caught him in the face just as Geoff came back in the office with a fresh cup of coffee.

 

“Well it's good to see you two lovebirds are ready to jump into it. Set your shit up, Ryan, we're behind schedule.”

 

o0o

 

Ryan took Ray home that night after grabbing some dinner and they sat in the car in front of the apartment building saying goodbye.

 

“Last night...” Ray started with a dreamy smile, “I liked it. Like, _a lot_. Is it weird that I feel closer...to you? That's weird, right?”

 

“No,” Ryan assured him, picking up the Lad's hand and kissing the back of it. “It's supposed to feel like that. I'm glad to hear you liked it. Would you want to do it again?”

 

Ray laughed at the hesitance in his boyfriend's voice. “Fuck yes. We better. Can I do it to you?”

 

Ryan's jaw dropped comically and it only made him laugh harder. “Seriously?”

 

“Yeah, man.”

 

One of those rare, deep-laugh-line smiles came onto Ryan's face and it put fuzzy feelings in his chest.

 

o0o0o0o

 

Ray wasn't sure what woke him. He squinted up at his dark ceiling for a minute or two before rolling over to try and go back to sleep. Then a distinct _clank_ came from the other side of the apartment and he bolted upright. He ran on quick feet to the kitchen, grabbing his phone and the baseball bat his dad had bought him back in New York for protection. If someone had broken in he could probably get a good crack in before he called the police.

 

With a few cowardly ducks of his head around the corner he discovered there was no one there.

 

But what he did find was that the fridge was vibrating softly and it had gone warm. The Omega groaned, tossing his bat on the counter and dialing a familiar number with the other hand. There was only one thing to do. It took a few rings before the Gent picked up, though he was honestly surprised he did at all. “Hey, Rye-bread.”

 

“ _Ray? What's wrong, baby?_ ” Ray swallowed down a little moan when he heard the husky, ground-gravel of his boyfriend's sleepy voice. They rarely called each other nicknames that weren't in pure humor but the rough _baby_ made him adjust himself in his boxers.

 

“I'm sorry for waking you up,” Ray started, fridge door open so he could frown properly at it all, “But my fridge kind of, uh, stopped being a fridge. And I wouldn't give a shit but my boyfriend got me all this great food and it's going to go bad soon. I'm going to bring this crap over and call the super tomorrow.”

 

“ _No, no,_ ” Ryan yawned loudly away from the receiver before he tried to clear his throat to sound convincing. “ _I can fix it. Give me thirty minutes and I'll bring some tools._ ”

 

Ray smiled fondly to himself. “No way, man. Just unlock your door.”

 

“ _And how do you plan to get over here? Walk?_ ”

 

The Omega's lips puckered up at the sober reasoning. “Fair. Thirty minutes. Don't fall asleep on the wheel or I'll be alone forever.”

 

“ _I'm sure Jack and Caiti would take you in as a sexy houseboy_ ,” Ryan deadpanned. _“Don't answer the door for anyone but me_.”

 

“Yeah, because they're beatin' the roof in to get to me,” Ray snorted. “Just be careful, asshole.”

 

About thirty minutes later, Ryan was kneeling in front of the warm fridge with a toolbox open beside him. Ray was sitting at the counter with his arms crossed on the cluttered surface and his chin resting on top of them. He watched the Alpha with a soft smile, admiring the pinch of the man's brow and the peek of pale chest from the 'v' of his parted zipper. Ryan had just thrown on an old sweatshirt jacket over his pajama pants and it wasn't closed all the way, giving the Omega something to gaze at. His glasses were starting to slip down the bridge of his nose and it was the very definition of _adorable._

 

Ray went to the bathroom to take a piss and brush the terrible Taco Bell taste out of his mouth. When he got back, Ryan was smeared up to his elbow in black crud. He didn't look pissed. In fact, he was grinning.

 

“Fixed,” the Gent announced proudly. “Your compressors were impressively clogged. Tell your landlord the seal is about shot on the fridge too. He'll need to order one and they should put it in for you.”

 

Ray crooked a finger at him, the Alpha frowning. “I'm filthy. And it's late, Ray, you should head to bed.”

 

“Shut up,” Ray, grabbed the man's jacket and pulled him closer until he could crane up and give him a proper kiss. He slowly pried the Alpha's lips open with his tongue and coaxed him into a drowsy tangle. Without the fridge open the light was dim so when they pulled away it was mostly just the outline of bodies and the shine of their eyes.

 

“Wash that stuff off your hands and come to bed,” Ray demanded with an amorous smile.

 

Golden lashes fell to half-mast as a tired, happy smile curled the Gent's lips. “Okay.”

 

Ray crawled into bed and waited, glad for the glow of the night behind his curtains so he could see when Ryan came into the room. The Alpha unzipped his jacket and his bare chest was always a sight to see. The Omega got a little red and buried his face behind the blanket, watching shamelessly as the man stripped off his pants too. The clothes were folded and put aside, glasses set atop them.

 

Ryan plopped into the bed with a grunt, obviously more exhausted than he'd let on.

 

“My poor, tired Gent,” Ray half-teased. The older man groaned and grabbed the Omega by the waist, manhandling him until he could be the big spoon. Ray chuckled and snuggled back into him, blanketing the arm around his stomach. The slump of Ryan's form and the soft puff of his breath told the boy that his boyfriend was nearly out cold.

 

“You're such a good Alpha, Rye.” Ray reached back and pet through the man's soft hair, his eyelids drooping. “ _My_ Alpha.”

 

o0o0o0o

 

Ryan and Ray had gorged themselves on a huge breakfast together and they'd woken up at an insane hour to enjoy the morning date. It had been kind of romantic, the world grey and sleepy while they talked quietly at the bar of a diner over heaping piles of bacon and eggs. So when Geoff called for a long lunch the R&R Connection declined the others and offered to stay behind to edit. The moment everyone left the room and the door was closed, Ray cracked a loud yawn and his head dropped down onto the desk. He wasn't exactly regretting his decision to get up early with the Alpha but they had both been up late last night and he was feeling it. Exhaustion weighed like lead in his bones and every moment was double the effort.

 

Ryan shoved aside his makeshift desk. He caught his boy's eye with a wink and a waggle of his eyebrows.

 

“What are you up to over there?”

 

Ryan patted the couch seductively.

 

The Omega perked up and smirked. “Yeah, I can get into that.”

 

o0o

 

Jack opened the door to the office and frowned when he realized the lights were off and the curtains were drawn. “What the...? _Oh_.”

 

Gavin and Michael crowded up behind him and their Alpha peeked over their shoulders to see what was holding them up. Kdin jumped up an down behind the rest of the AH crew, trying to get a peel at what everyone was looking at.

 

“Ah, they're precious,” Jack cooed.

 

Ryan was stretched on the couch, one of the spare pillows under his head and his sunglasses over his eyes. He looked lax, sprawled out like he was, and the cliché of “looking younger in your sleep” applied to the Gent. Ray was half curled on top of the Alpha, hood up over his head and face buried in the man's broad chest. They fit together nicely, Ryan's arms and knees curling around and bracketing the boy almost protectively. The couple was fast asleep and looked comfortable enough to stay there for a while longer.

 

“Let's give them a half hour,” Geoff offered, a smile twitching his lips.

 

They closed the door and the sound was enough to make Ryan's eyes to pop open. He was disoriented at first before he remembered where he was. He made a low, Alpha purr that resonated in the base of his stomach as he slid a hand under his boyfriend's jacket to lay across the warm curve of his back. Ray sighed and shifted higher up, fingers kneading at the older man's chest before he stilled once more.

 

“Good boy.”

 

o0o0o0o

 

“Where are we going?”

 

“It's a surprise.”

 

“It's a Tuesday. And you told Geoff we were running to the store for parts.”

 

Ryan shrugged with one shoulder. “White lies don't really hurt anyone. And there's no kids in the middle of the day. They're all in school.”

 

“Kids...?”

 

Ray started bouncing with each step, excitement rising as they walked up to the door and the building loomed over them. Not for the first time, he was glad they had worked up their courage to get together because he couldn't have asked for a better boyfriend. Ryan was the Loophole Guy, the one who strained the rules until they were ready to break, the dirty player, and the Omega loved it.

 

An arcade at noon – perfect.

 

The bottom floor was all restaurants, gift shops, and snack stands but the second floor was pure arcade. It was huge, too, and nearly impossible to see the other side of the room from the escalator. The second they stepped into the thick of it, it was like a throwback to both their childhoods. It was dark and kind of dank but mostly cool. It smelled like syrupy cola and pretzels, sticky fingers and old adrenaline. The carpet was a cheesy pattern and worn thin under their shoes. All the games were lit up brilliantly, old logos and new ones flashing and begging for their money. It was almost empty too. Just a couple stoners and young teens who had skipped school.

 

“I'm tired of you wiping the floor with my ass on every game we play together,” Ryan explained, fishing a fifty out of his wallet. “Let's do this.”

 

Ray gaped as the Alpha headed toward the window where a bored, adorable chick brightened up to have some business. “Dude, you don't have to do all that. I can pay for my own quarters.”

 

“Courting means never having to pay,” Ryan echoed the words Gavin had spouted off the other day when Geoff had bought lunch for both Michael and the Brit. He got a peck on the cheek. “You just concentrate on trying to keep up.”

 

When he handed the bill over the girl's pretty blue eyes went wide. “All of it, sir?”

 

“All of it.”

 

“Alright!” she chirped, taking the money and starting to exchange it for five rolls fo quarters. “If you don't mind me saying, you two are a cute couple. How long have you been together?”

 

“Thanks. About a year,” Ryan answered, taking the rolls and giving three over to the Omega. “You ready to lose?”

 

“Bring it on, old man,” Ray answered immediately, following the man over to the nearest _Contra_ game. “And I think you're going senile because it's barely been two months, Rye.”

 

“I thought we already established that I've been courting you for far long than that?” the Alpha teased back. “Does it only feel like two months?”

 

Ray hooked an arm around his boyfriend's waist and squeezed. “As always, you're right. And as always, you're going to lose _hard_.”

 

o0o

 

The first hour was mostly Ryan dominating, killing it with the more old school games. They played side by side on _X-Men_ and _Virtua Fighter 2_ , all the fighting games from _Tekken_ to _Mortal Combat_ gone through at least once. When it came to individual games like _Pac Man_ they took turns and did a best two-out-of-three.

 

But once they hit Ray's generation of games – _Monkey Ball, Silent Scope 2, The Grid_ – the Omega started to take over. Ryan's huge lead was getting chipped away quarter by quarter. They'd bump hips and jab at each other to try and cheat but spending so much time around the AH crew had built up their immunity to stuff like that.

 

After two hours they considered it a draw, though there were some shady arguments that could be made for either party. They walked back to the car sun-struck and starving, the younger pulling his boyfriend by the hand with a sound stuttering out of him that sounded like giggling.

 

“Geoff's going to be _so_ pissed.”

 

Ryan spun the Omega around and pinned him to the sun warmed metal of the car door, crowding in on him until there was barely a breath between them. Ray brushed their noses and wrapped his arms around the man's shoulders, big hands snagging his waist. Their kiss was quick and chaste out here in the open but there was a desire for more in their eyes.

 

“Let's go grab lunch before we head back,” Ryan offered lowly, thumbs hooking under the boy's shirt to skim over his stomach. “My treat.”

 

“We just spent all your money on games,” Ray murmured in protest before the words were kissed away.

 

“Somewhere sit-down with good food that takes too long to come,” Ryan hummed against his lips. “Where I can hold your hand unde the table and you can steal off my plate and we can fight over pita chips. How does that sound?”

 

“Amazing,” the Lad confessed, brow kind of pinching. “But work...”

 

“I like you a lot more than work.”

 

“Who can argue with that logic? Let's get going, then.”

 

o0o0o0o

 

Ray had come over without asking and wasn't about to tell Ryan what to do in his own house, but it was hard to go to sleep with the Alpha quietly reading beside him. He'd set his Nook on low light but it wasn't the device – it was just that his boyfriend was close but wasn't wrapped around him. Ray had become a cuddler with his new Omega status, he'd admit that, and he loved the way the Alpha would curl up along his back before falling asleep. They were a tactile couple and he wasn't embarrassed by it because he _wanted_ it – he loved Ryan's hands on him, his chest against his back, their legs all tangled, even the way his arm would fall asleep from their spooning position.

 

“Whatcha' reading?” Ray drawled, sitting up and rubbing his knuckles into his eyes.

 

“ _Hannibal_ ,” Ryan's eyes flickered up from his screen. He was sitting against the wall, glasses on the end of his nose, comforter covering his legs and pooling around his hips. He saw the sleepy Omega's mildly frustrated expression and put the device down. “You want me to stop? I can go out in the living room.”

 

“It's fine, you're not tired yet. Just make some room, asshole.”

  
“This s why I don't have house guests,” Ryan joked, moving his arms and his nook up so the Omega could stretch out across his lap and put his head on his lap. He let Ray get comfortable before balanced the bottom of the Nook upon the Omega's covered shoulder. “Is this alright?”

 

Ray made a wordless sound and nuzzled into the blanket puddling along the man's thigh. “Read it.”

 

“Alright.”

 

After a quiet minute, the Omega grunted. “No, out loud.”

 

“Why?”

 

“I like your voice.”

 

Though that made him happy, Ryan pulled a face. “Are you sure? It's kind of gruesome.”

 

When Ray grumbled impatiently he decided it was best to give in to the Lad's request.

 

“ 'While blood still fell from the hanging body of Rinaldo Pazzi to fry and smoke on the hot floodlights beneath Palazzo Vecchio, the police summoned the fire department to get him down.' Still sure?”

 

The boy poked hard into his ribs. “Don't be an ass. I'm not a kid.”

 

Ryan pet through dark hair until Ray relaxed again and his breath started to even out. He kept reading in a low tone and didn't skip over the more gruesome parts despite the urge to protect his Omega from all things that could hurt him. He would glance down at his bedmate during the bloody bits but he didn't stir, not once. It made him proud that his potential mate was stronger than he gave him credit for.

 

“ '...and Carlo coming up behind him cut him up the crease of his buttocks and made him scream, gripped him around the hips and hoisted him headfirst into the pen, and the pigs charged. Oreste tried to get to his feet, got to one knee and the sow hit him in the ribs and knocked him sprawling. And they were on him, snarling and squealing, two boards pulling at his face got his jaw off and divided it like a wishbone.'”

 

The next morning, Ray wrapped around him from behind while he brewed coffee. “There's Monster in the fridge.”

 

“Thank God,” the Omega grumbled and shuffled to the fridge. “We should add 'Reading To Ray' as one of our date night things. Netflix, _Castlevania_ , and story time. And once you court your way into my pants, they'll be perfect.”

 

Ryan smiled around a mouthful of coffee before swallowing. “I like the sound of that.”

 

o0o0o0o

 

Ray rode with Ryan back to the Gent's house and they decided to take turns playing _Amnesia_ in the darkened living room. Neither easily got frightened from horror games and it turned out to be more frustrating than scary. The light straining around the blinds was turning kind of pink as the evening started to really set in and they thought about calling it a night.

 

Ryan paused the game with a frown. “Do you want to go out tonight?”

 

Ray's hand rattled in the bag of pretzels they'd been sharing. “What do you mean?”

 

“I could take you out somewhere fancy. We can wear good clothes be like all those couples on TV,” Ryan explained. “If you want that, I can totally do it.”

 

The Omega snorted. “I'm sorry, have we met?”

 

“Yeah, you're fight,” Ryan snickered, tossing the controller on the table. “You know what's showing tonight downtown? _Return to Silent Hill_. It has to be scarier than this shit.”

 

Ray crinkled up the back and plopped it down beside the controller. “Theater popcorn and cheap thrills? Why the fuck are we still sitting here?”

 

o0o

 

They nearly got kicked out of the showing on two occasions for both screaming and laughing too hard. The car ride was full of half-assed criticizing and shared creepy views on mannequins and mannequin monsters. As always, their conversation looped back around to work and projects. After the Alpha parked they talked for a few more minutes but something crept into the air.

 

Between Ray braying about cheap effects and talking about going to Arizona for a charity benefit, Ryan grabbed the Omega's sleeve and scooted him closer. He leaned over the armrest, smiling smoothly, and dropped a kiss on the boy's pulse. It fluttered under his lips. “You sure you don't want to stay at my place tonight?”

 

“I'm not a live-in cuddle buddy like Michael,” Ray playfully elbow him but the Alpha didn't move. “I have my own place and I'd like to stay there – alone – sometimes.”

 

“I don't believe you,” Ryan pestered lightly, still kissing. Ray batted at him and chuckled through his nose at the tickling sensation. The sound cut short into something high-pitched and very unmanly when the Alphas's teeth dug in so hard he could feel his blood pumping under the canines.

 

“Ryan,” he laughed breathlessly, “D-Don't start something you won't finish, man.”

 

Ryan brushed the jibe off. “But you taste so good, and I want dessert.”

 

Ray's mirth gave way to soft moans as the Alpha started working light, suckling kisses from under his jaw down to the base of his throat. Ryan tugged his t-shirt aside to pepper more along the wing of his collar bone. It wasn't hard enough to leave marks and he wanted to complain. He needed tangible proof to look at tomorrow morning. He was about to say something when Ryan's hand dropped onto his knee and slowly drifted, fingers dragging against the denim all the way up until the tips ran over the seam of his crotch. His cock twitched and he was sure his boyfriend could feel it.

 

Ray was just starting to lean into it when the man pulled back with a smug smirk and dark eyes. “Get some rest. We've got a big day tomorrow building the set for Pac Man _Immersion_.”

 

The Omega felt goosebumps crop up on his neck as the cool AC of the car met the damp skin Ryan's clever tongue had left behind. “You're a cock tease.”

 

Ryan actually _winked_ at him. “Soon, I promise.”

 

Ray lunged across the armrest and pressed a searing kiss across the Alpha's mouth, running his tongue across the man's chapped lower lip before drawing back. Ryan looked a little flustered (as planned.)

 

“Whatever you say, _Alpha_ ,” Ray purred, dodging the man's grabby hands as he darted out of the car. “Have a good night!”

 

“You little shit!” Ryan called after him but the Lad just bounded up to his door with a pleased smirk and left him with a hard-on and a need to bite.

 

o0o0o0o

 

Nothing had really happened to set him off but one day in the middle of the week he called Geoff and told him he was taking a Mental Health Day. He was feeling unsettled and he didn't have an appetite. He wasn't sick but he didn't feel up to being around a lot of people. He'd hung up once Geoff had agreed and had caught the beginning of the Alpha yelling at Ryan about something.

 

A half hour later he realized what it must have been about because Ryan was at his doorstep with a feel-better kiss all ready to give him. The Alpha didn't demand any explanation and he didn't fuss. He simply told Ray to put on some cable TV so they could nap on the couch with background noise. The Omega tried to argue that it was too early to go back to sleep but that didn't last long before he was slumping down on the Alpha's chest and letting himself fall into the scent of safe kitchens and fresh bread.

 

They woke up a little after noon and Ryan made them lunch. He read while Ray played DS and the Omega started to actually feel better. After a few chapters the Nook was turned off and put on the table. “Put on the first season of _Game of Thrones_ and I'll show you something Omega-y I bet you didn't know about.”

 

“Dude, we're way past that part of the series. Aren't we on three?”

 

Ryan shrugged with one shoulder. “You'll be pretty focused on me and I don't want you to miss anything.”

 

“Deal.”

 

The coffee table was pushed out of the way along with some of the clutter. Ryan sat cross-legged on the floor, back to the couch, and Ray was tugged down with him. He had the Omega spread out on his back in front of him, his knees just barely touching the boy's hip and shoulder. A couch pillow was pushed under his head for comfort. Ray could easily watch TV and the Alpha had all the access he could want. The Lad blushed and squirmed when his shirt was pushed up to just below his nipples.

 

Ryan's gently laid a hand on his stomach before he started rubbing in large, slow circles. “What are you doing?”

 

“Shut up and watch TV.”

Minutes ticked by and the complicated plot of _Game of Thrones_ unfolded on screen. Ray's lashes started to droop a little. His arms stretched high above his head to loosen up muscles before he melted bonelessly into the carpet. Ryan's hand was gradually rubbing firmer and wider, petting his belly like a lazy dog. “Omegas like this?”

 

“Usually, yes. My ex used to make me do this for hours,” Ryan chuckled at the memory, said woman's face fuzzy compared to the tempting morsel spread out in front of him. “Showing your belly to an Alpha...letting them touch this soft part of you...” He thumbed at the boy's belly button. “Is it doing it for you?”

 

Ray nodded. It should have made him feel like an animal but the warmth of the Alpha's hand and the small rumble in the man's chest that could've been a purr made him feel more like a treasured pet. His “Mad King” fantasies reared up and his mind painted him in silk and silver, stretched out on a cushion for his king to play with. But instead of getting finger fucked until he cried or getting a thick knot locked behind his teeth or in his ass, he was getting stroked along the length of his belly by his boyfriend so he could feel better.

 

Minutes ticked away unnoticed and Ray got progressively more drunk off the Alpha's scent. He was half hard when he started whimpering, the sounds small and skidding over the back of his tongue. He tried to apologized but was quickly shushed. _This is for you, just relax._ The Omega didn't want to acknowledge he was _writhing_ but he wasn't sure what else to call his insistent squirming that made the carpet burn his back. Ryan's touch grew braver. Fingertips danced under the hem of his shirt and _just_ grazed his nipples. The sensation was light, barely there, but the buds puckered shamelessly as if his body was asking for what his mushy brain couldn't put into words. The digits roamed low, hip bones half hidden by the waist of his pants but still kissed lovingly by the ends of the Alpha's fingers.

 

Ray let out a humiliating whine when his boyfriend hooked a finger in his belt loop and tugged his pants down, just an inch or so. Enough to expose the first line of dark hair that led to his hard cock. He tried to concentrate on the screen but his vision was swimmy and he was having trouble concentrating. His turned his head to look down the line of his body when he felt Ryan's fingers touch the coarse hair.

 

Ryan was smiling down a him, looking as calm as ever as his nail scratched along the thick band of the other's boxer briefs. They were an obnoxious red color and stood out brightly against his dark jean shorts like a target above his dick. The Alpha kept stroking him like that in one long line, grazing his nipples and trailing down, swirling around his belly button, then scratching through rough hair and threatening to dip past the elastic. Dark lashes fluttered wildly as tingles went all through his body, down into his spine, making his lips tremble and his toes curl inside his socks.

 

The kisses started just as casually. Ryan's hand continued to pet him but lips grazed him now too. He was too scared to look, afraid he would cream his pants if he saw the Alpha worshiping him like this. He was already achingly hard and he'd shoot off like a rocket if he got too much attention. They bussed over his ribs, at the top of his belly button, just below it, and all along the line of his shirt – _so close_ to his nipples. He'd lost it if he touched them again.

 

It was kind of fucking naughty and that put heat in his cheeks more than anything. They were both fully clothed but he was exposed, every bit of him waiting for the Alpha to unwrap. He was vulnerable but it wasn't bad – far from it. He wanted to be open for the man, he wanted to give him everything if he would take it. His inexperience and all his kingly fantasies wrapped up in each other and only fueled his desire. The way Ryan was gazing at him with half-lidded bedroom eyes...it made him feel sexy, wanted. It was the the lusty stare he'd been gunning for, like the kind Geoff gave both his boys.

 

Ryan sat up and licked the taste of the Omega's skin off his lips. His thumb swooped down and tapped at the bronze button at the top of his jean shorts. “Baby, you're _hard_.”

 

Ray's bit off a moan and nodded a the purred words. Ryan flicked the button through the eye and eased the material apart with the back of his knuckles, never once looking away. The Omega chewed at his bottom lip and nodded to answer the silent question in the man's eyes. His cock was straining against his underwear. He shifted his weight to try and spread his legs in the confines of his pants and there was slickness there as well.

 

He was so _ready_. He could smell his own need and could see the Alpha's own pushing against his jeans.

 

Ryan's touched the plump head of the Omega's cock, smirking wickedly when the material darkened from arousal and dampened under the whorl of his thumb.

 

His eyes threatened to roll into the back of his head as he choked out the word he'd been longing to say since his stupid crush started.

 

“A-Alpha...”

 

Ray's delicious whimper was cut through by the trill of the Alpha's phone. Ryan full on growled and it did nothing to calm the younger man's hard-on. He pulled away on the second ring with great reluctance and got it off the table. While he answered, Ray hurriedly sat up and winced as he buttoned his pants over his erection. It actually hurt and his whimper this time was of discomfort.

 

Ryan's growl trickled off to a sigh as he listened to Barb on the other end of the line. “Okay, fine. I'll be there in thirty.” His lips pursed. “Twenty, then.”

 

The Gent hung up and shot his boyfriend a disappointed look. “They're recording _The Patch_ right now. Ashley and Gus are leaving for an event and apparently this is the only time they can record it for it to be out on time.”

 

“ _Now_?” Ray whined in protest, “Come on, dude, seriously.”

 

“I'm sorry.” Ryan knelt down beside him and kissed the boy's cheek. “Rain check, I promise.”

 

He actually pouted. “But we were so close.”

 

Ryan cupped his cheek and pulled him in to a deep kiss that left his tongue tingling. “I'd rather be here with you. But next time because this is important to Gus. I'll see you tomorrow?”

 

“Fuck,” Ray griped, “Fine, yeah. I'll probably be right here with a raw dick from jerkin' it so much. Fucking asshole.”

 

The Alpha sucked in a sharp breath and he glanced down at the curve of the boy's erection through his jeans. “You're not making this easy.”

 

Ray waggled his eyebrows. “Am I making it _hard_?”

 

“Shut up.” A bit of fang flashed before Ryan grabbed the back of his neck, making him keen faintly. “I should make you take pictures and send them to me. Give me something pretty to look at while I'm talking about some stupid video games I don't give a shit about.”

 

“Do...do you want me to?” Ray swallowed thickly. “I will, Rye. I mean, I can, I-”

The Alpha laid a thumb on the boy's lips, silencing him. “Take care of yourself. I'll be thinking about it.”

 

Ryan gave him a last kiss, almost chaste in comparison to how turned on they were, and then pried himself away to get his keys. “I'll see you tomorrow?”

 

Ray nodded before flopping down onto the carpet, throwing an arm over his eyes. “Okay.”

 

o0o0o0o

 

The entire building trembled under the force of the resident threesome's first real argument. No one was sure how it started or what the point had been, but it quickly dissolved into Gavin not helping out around the house and Michael leaving his shoes everywhere and _why the hell don't you stay at your own apartment?_ And the backlash from that statement started round two about clingy Alphas and drinking problems, about how Geoff dragged Gavin into all his stupid shit and that if Michael had the _good sense God gave rocks_ he'd take the Brit and leave.

 

That bomb had killed the argument dead and Geoff had to physically leave the building before he said something else he'd regret. Michael had packed up his shit and barked that he was going to stay at his apartment, since apparently that's where he belonged. Jack had gone to help on the podcast and Ray had hid in Joel's office, fiddling with the stuff on the man's desk to try and distract himself from how badly his friends were hurting.

 

“Why don't you go hang out with Ryan, kid?” Joel offered the nervous Omega.

 

“Yeah, okay.”

 

Ray wandered around for a while until Lindsay steered him toward the AH office. He was kind of surprised at first because that's where Gavin had shut himself up at after the fight. Why would Ryan want to get wrapped up in that? The trio needed to cool off and come back together to talk out all the terrible shit they said. _Didn't they?_

 

The door wasn't locked but when he opened it he knew it should have been. Ryan was on his couch with Gavin in his lap, not unlike one of Ray's favorite position. He got a hot flash of jealousy in his gut before he realized his friend smelled like damp mulch instead of his usual spring-like scent. Gavin's head popped up when he heard the door open and his eyes were red, cheeks damp, lower lip shaking before Ryan tucked the Brit's face back into his throat with the soft sound of a concerned Alpha.

 

“Can you give us a few minutes?”

 

Ray nodded dumbly and shut the door without question. He stared down at the floor for a little bit before the sound of Gavin's muffled sob shook him out of it. He wanted to go back in there and cuddle his friend, try to take some of his hurt, but his boyfriend seemed to have it covered.

 

But there was still a nagging feeling inside his brain that told him he was missing something.

 

o0o

 

“It's natural.”

 

Ray hummed to show he was listening. He was sitting up high on the counter away from all the ingredients Ryan had laid out for dinner. It looked like spaghetti but a lot more complicated. The Alpha had his sleeves rolled up to his elbows and his glasses on so Ray was ready to listen to whatever he had to say. Who could ignore a hot guy that was that nice mix of repentant and knowledgeable?

 

“Gav and I took a while to get close but once we kind of compatible. Biologically, I mean, not romantically,” Ryan explained, knife quick on the mushrooms in a way that showed experience. “Before he got with Geoff I was the only Alpha he'd scent with.”

 

“Did you guys stop when we got together?”

 

“Yes, but it was more to make you more comfortable until we had a talk like this, I guess,” Ryan frowned thoughtfully as he tried to come up with the right words. “I wanted you to know that it has nothing with trying to make you jealous or any of that nonsense. I'm not interested in Gavin like that. It's a comfort thing above everything else. We're familiar with each other, our scents match well – it's just easy between us. _And_ it's healthy for an Omega to scent with multiple Alphas they have a connection with. Keeps the hormones balanced. There are studies that Omegas who scent regularly with multiple partners have lower cortisol levels than those who don't.”

 

He glanced over at his boyfriend with a patient smile. “It's just one of those things you learn from living in your status for a couple years.”

 

“Oh. Okay.” Ray chewed his lip, a habit he was picking up from Ryan. “You've had a lot of experience with Omegas, haven't you?”

 

“I've had a few Omega girlfriends before, and I've done a lot of reading.” Ryan did _not_ want to have this conversation right now but it was something they would have to talk about eventually. “I was with two of them through their heats. And...I helped a few of my close Omega friends when their suppressants would slip or they needed to cycle. So I have _some_ experience, yes.”

 

Ray wished he was more surprised by that. Ryan was a good Alpha, a choice catch. He was handsome and wicked smart. Of course he'd had pretty Omegas to go through heats with. He'd probably satisfied them in ways Ray had only seen in porn, ways he couldn't imagine. It felt like a real effort to make himself okay with it. _More skills to use on me, I guess._

 

“What if _I_ wanted to scent with someone else?”

 

Ryan nodded. “Of course. You and the Lads seem to get on well enough, compatibility wise.”

 

Ray sucked his teeth noisily, showing his displeasure at the assumption. “I mean with an Alpha.”

 

Ryan's mouth snapped shut and he forced down the instant wave of jealousy that burned in his gut. He nodded but it felt stilted. “Sure. It's your right as an Omega.”

 

The younger man nodded and jumped off the counter, “Mind if I chill out on the couch?”

 

“No, go ahead.”

 

o0o

 

Ray caught Geoff alone in the AH office mid-morning. The Gent was sipping coffee and standing in front of his computer, waiting to see if the video on his screen was actually rendering or if it had frozen. The Omega slowly walked up behind him, nerves slowing his feet but determination keeping him going forward. He wasn't sure if this would be welcome or if Michael and Gavin would get angry at him for it, but he needed to do it. He wanted to see if Ryan was right.

 

Ray butted his head up against the Alpha's back right between his shoulder blades, wrapping his arms around his waist. His chest ached right before he started to lightly purr. Geoff smelled warm and kind of metallic, but there was something citrus-y in it that kept it light.

 

The Alpha tensed in his embrace. “You okay there, Ray?”

 

“Mm-hmm.” Ray nodded, insistently nudging his nose against the man's shoulder. He liked Geoff's scent and the more he breathed in the more he realized that he could pick up traces of Gavin and Michael. Sweet syrup, fresh flowers, and the inside of a hot engine good in that manly way he himself had never been able to pull off. That familiar floaty feeling was starting to go through him.

 

Geoff turned around and looked at him, brow smoothing out when he realized what the Omega wanted. He led Ray over to the couch with a firm hand, sitting down and carefully easing him onto his lap. Ray went willingly, resting his forehead against the Alpha's neck and curling into him. It was like with Ryan but there wasn't a simmer of arousal. Instead he got sleepy and cooed very lightly when the man'a hands settled beneath his thigh and over his shoulder.

 

Ray wasn't sure how long they stayed there but when Geoff kissed his forehead and told him it was time to get back to work, he obeyed. There was a new lightness to his limbs, thoughts clear and easy flowing. He was ready for anything.

 

_Ryan was right, as always. Smart motherfucker._

 

o0o

 

Geoff loaded his Omegas in the car with little difficulty since they were practically wrapped around one another. They were still recovering from their big fight and the two had barely stopped touching since the apologies had come. Michael was still a little sore on him so he had been sleeping with Gavin the past two nights, refusing to go back to his apartment out of some weird spite. _Whatever makes him happy_.

 

“Hey Haywood!”

 

Ryan stopped on his way to the car, light brows furrowing over his sunglasses before he walked over to the other Alpha. Geoff slammed he door shut on Gavin's squawking to give them some privacy. He leaned against the car and shoved his hands into his pockets. “So your boy came to me for a scent-break earlier.”

 

There was some tension in the younger man's shoulders but it didn't show on his face. “That's good. I told him the other day that scenting with other Alphas was good for him.”

 

“You two having problems already?” Geoff asked, actually concerned. The courting couple seemed to be a good match even if Ryan was moving slowly in the bedroom department.

 

Ryan brushed it off. “No. He saw me with Gavin when the three of you were...working out your differences. We were scenting and it brought up some old insecurities. Ray's a light touch.”

 

Geoff hummed understandingly as he scratched through his beard. “You thought about claiming him yet?”

 

“I've thought about a lot of things,” Ryan replied, trying not to be defensive. “But I like what we're doing and the pace we have. It feels nice – and _real_.”

 

“As long as you explained it to him and everything,” Geoff shrugged. “You guys sound on track and everything. Just wanted to make sure you knew about it.”

 

“Thanks.”

 

o0o0o0o

 

Netflix nights with Ryan was and always will be Ray's best idea. It had given him quality time with the Alpha and they'd grown closer through it. Lately, though, they'd led to more than popcorn bloated stomachs and tired eyes.

 

Ray had slid himself into Ryan's lap with more than grace than he'd ever shown, for once coming off smooth rather than gangly and awkward. It had started off with just some sweet kisses and hair mussing, the usual dance between them feeling effortless with as much practice as they had at it. Then he bit down on Ryan's lip and the man surged toward him, arms wrapping tightly around his middle so the Alpha could hold him still and eat at his mouth. Tongues mapped out soft palates, the overly sweet taste of Coke passed between them. Their scents were mixing, each trying to overpower the other as hearts pumped hot and their bodies languidly moved together.

 

“We smell like doughnuts,” Ray simpered, all his blood rushing to his cock and leaving very little to help his brain form clever thoughts. His neck was sniffed at deeply before the older man chuckled and agreed. The heady curl of vanilla, the smell of a warm brick oven...it would've made them them hungry if they weren't so worked up.

 

Ryan's kisses grew harsher, more needy, and the Omega went with it. He dug blunt nails into the man's shoulders as broad hands swept over his back and over his thighs. Ray mindlessly ground against him in search of friction, his lips swelling under the pressure of rough teeth and dick straining harshly against his underwear. It felt clumsy and only _kind of_ good at this angle. Before he could really think about it he was whining in distress, pleading with his Alpha to fix it.

 

Ryan rumbled and grabbed his hips, words taking a little longer to come as he fought through his own lusty fog. He moved the Omega more firmly into the middle of his lap, spreading his own legs a little under the Lad's to put some tension in his clothes that would cling to his smooth cock in the best way. He slotted his own bulge in the hot cradle of Ray's body so they both would get something out of it. Just because he was waiting to thoroughly ravish his boy didn't meant he was going to miss out on the opportunity to rut against his sweet little body.

 

Ray squirmed and on the upthrust he realized it was _perfect_ now. His cock ground against a soft part of his underwear and the Alpha's lower stomach made for the best place to push against. He tried it again, fucked it up, and growled at his own inexperience. The sound twisted into a gasp as Ryan's heavy palm laid across the swell of his throat, thumb and forefinger settling comfortably under the line of his jaw. There was no panic but the ache in his balls told him he could come from just that _look_ in the man's eyes and this kind of touch. The other hand curled tight on the curve where his thigh flowed into his hip and it firmly encouraged him to move.

 

Taking the Alpha's hint, Ray started to move to his rhythm and where he was guided. It felt a hundred times better than whatever juvenile humping he had been trying earlier and his agitated whining became happy moans. He blanketed the hand on his neck and moved how he was silently told.

 

“That's it,” Ryan husked, eyes darting between the Omega's tempting hips and blissed out expression. “Remember this, pretty boy, because this is how you're going to move when I fuck my knot into you for the first time. Slow and deep just like _this_.”

 

Ray groaned weakly as his cock was dragged hard across the man's stomach, firm muscle giving an amazing pressure. It reminded him of grinding his morning wood into the bed with the traces of Ryan's scent still in his pillow. But – _holy shit_ – so much better. And that _voice_.

 

“But we'll have a lot of practice before then,” Ryan promised, panting as the boy kept rolling deliciously across the swell in his jeans. “Lots of time for you to get to know my fingers and tongue.” Ray's eyes popped open and there was a dark flush blooming from his cheeks down into the line of his collar. “Like that idea? Would you let me taste you from the source, baby?”

 

Ryan grabbed the boy's ass and squeezed down on his throat and got the sweetest, most heartfelt sound. “I would lap you up, Ray. Get nice and drunk on the proof of how much you want my knot. I wonder if you would get overwhelmed, forget how to beg...and try to fuck my tongue?”

 

Ray dropped his head shyly and moaned at the way his belly was washed in pure, molten heat. There was a pressure just behind his balls, building at the base of his cock. The Alpha's filthy mouth and the amazing friction...he wouldn't last long. The hand on his neck fell away, letting him hide his desperate expression, before it fanned across the middle of his back. It was the only warning he got before Ryan's mouth closed on his nipple through his shirt, teeth biting hard enough for him to feel the points through the thin material. He arched involuntarily and would've fallen off the couch if the man hadn't held him. It made him feel protected, loved, and the second bite to his other one made him _hot_.

 

It was all he needed to tip him over the edge. He bucked up wildly but Ryan gripped him by the back of the neck and he instantly went lax, hips grinding sluggishly as he spilled inside his boxers. He whispered Ryan's name over and over again like a soft prayer, leaning back into his palm on his nape while the rest of him kept gently twitching to ride out his orgasm.

 

All that energy drained out of him in just a few long seconds, heat throbbing through his softening cock. He swayed where he sat but Ryan caught him and cradled him against his chest, letting the Omega sink into him like he wanted. Ryan called him a _good boy_ and it made him smile, the cooling mess in his shorts unnoticed.

 

“So that's what it's like with someone else,” Ray awed, overcome with the need to burrow deep in his Alpha's embrace drink in his scent. Sudden embarrassment burned his cheeks. “Did you mean what you said? Are you going to...you know, do all that?”

 

“In time, and only if you want me to,” Ryan scratched through his hair. “Right now I don't want to think about anything but taking a shower and getting some sleep.”

 

Ray's nose curled in disappointment and he sat up with shaking, jello-y arms so he could feel the lump in Ryan's pants. “But you're still-”

 

“I know,” the Alpha rolled up teasingly to make the boy's eyes go wide, “But I'll be alright. This was that rain check from the other day.”

 

“Ryan, I can help,” Ray protested strongly, but the way his fingers trembled when he reached for the man's pants told otherwise. They were batted away and he got a chaste kiss instead.

 

“Not tonight. This was new. A lot of things I want to do to you will be a little overwhelming like this,” Ryan frowned suddenly. “I shouldn't have grabbed your neck like that. Did I hurt you?”

 

“Fuck no you didn't.” He tried to smirk but it looked more like a smitten smile. “When can we do more stuff like this?”

 

“Soon,” Ryan vowed, smacking him lightly on the thigh. “Now get up and head in there. And leave me some hot water.”

 

Ray tried to get up but he froze when he felt and saw the wet, dark patch he'd left on his own jeans and Ryan's. He gaped and wondered how he hadn't felt that before. “T-That's slick, isn't it? Oh God, Rye, I'm sorry.”

 

The Alpha inhaled shakily. “I have some spare clothes here. Don't worry about it. Leave your clothes outside the door and I'll wash them.”

 

“This is embarrassing,” the Omega grumbled. His chin was seized and he was brought into a searing kiss that ate up all his griping.

 

“I think it's hot,” Ryan insisted, eyes darting from the boy's face to the damp spot he could feel against his thigh. He blinked hard and patted Ray on the side. “Go on.”

 

He decided to obey rather than risk Ryan getting upset about losing his cool.

 

o0o

 

Ray sat quietly outside the bathroom, hair still damp and hand absently palming his half hard cock. He was still amazingly satisfied from earlier, more than he had ever been from his own hand, but he couldn't fight biology. There were virile Alpha pheromones pouring out from beneath the bathroom door and he was greedily breathing it all in – steam and warm brick and fresh bread and _sex_. He pressed his head to the door and listened but Ryan was being quiet, that selfish bastard. He was in there jerking off and there was nothing the Omega could do about it.

 

Would he knot? Would he squeeze his hand around the base and think of Ray?

 

“Ryan,” Ray crooned quietly to himself, glasses nearly sliding off his face as he tucked his chin to his rest. He slid a hand under his shirt and fingered his hot, swollen nipple. Ryan had bit him so _hard_ and it had been amazing. He plucked at the bud and he felt his cock twitch, a low moan leaking out from between his lips before he bit down on them. What would he have to do to convince the man that they could do more? He was beyond ready and willing.

 

He wanted Ryan to be his Alpha.

 

* * *

**Uh, so, I'm super sorry about this, but I'm cutting this fic down to once a week (maybe week and a half). I school starting Monday and this is the last chapter I can post until maybe next weekend so I tried to make it a good one. They won't be as nearly as long as this so get ready to go back to drabble-length. I tried to wrap this up before school started but it got out of hand. We're not nearly done.**   
  


 

 

 

 


	61. Geoff, Michael, and Gavin VII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Geoff and Michael convince Gavin to get physical with them in their own way.
> 
> -
> 
> “Daddy,” Michael rasped, gaze trained on the other Omega's cock as long fingers slowly curled around it, “Please. I just wanna' play. He's so pretty and needy for us.”

**Takes place almost directly after the last chapter, right after the GGM fight. Warning for LOTS of dirty talk and kinky-ish stuff and it's just a lot of porn, okay?  
  
 **These are posted out of sequence. Don't like that? That's perfectly fine. Check out the****[linear link post](http://emono-omae.tumblr.com/post/99261946051/timeline-for-id-like-it-better-if-i-could-win-at-it) here on my blog to see everything in order.  


* * *

 

Gavin woke up happy. It wasn't a rare occurrence but it was always an appreciated one. Especially after the horrible fight he'd had with his boyfriends a few days ago. Crying on Ryan had been embarrassing but scenting with his Alpha friend had settled him down enough to call Michael and start the mending. His boy had spent the first two nights in his room, sharing a bed. Usually he wouldn't mind but he pushed Michael to talk to Geoff and think about forgiving the Alpha for his careless comments. After some shoving from Gavin and him feeding them beer, the two of them had made out like teenagers last night. Michael had disappeared into the Alpha’s room with that _look_. The Brit had passed out around three AM with the scent of their mating curling in under his door. He was ecstatic for them, for all of them. They’d survived their first fight and not a lot of couples could say the same.

 

Gavin bounded out of bed and tugged on a pair of loose boxers before heading to the bathroom. It was already occupied, steam leaking through the cracks that smelled like warm cherry pie and cottony soap wash that reminded him of Jack. He knocked his knuckles off the wood. “You mind if I brush my teeth, boy?”

 

“Go ahead,” Michael called back, sounding half asleep.

 

Gavin opened the door and a fog of his boy’s scent enveloped him, wrapping him up and pulling him in by the nose. He swallowed down the pleased coo that tickled his throat and walked up to the sink to grab his stuff out from the medicine cabinet. His toothbrush was an obnoxious green compared to Michael’s plain red and Geoff’s dark one. He grabbed a washcloth and wiped the steam from the mirror, getting a blurry image of himself in greeting. Scrubbing away, the Brit hummed around the brush and lost himself in idle thought and the misty scent, eyes starting to go out of focus.

 

He jumped when a hand snaked over his stomach, blunt nails raking through his pelt. Geoff was staring at him, half-lidded and sleepy, and the Alpha hooked a chin over his shoulder like an anchor. Not that he would want to go anywhere else because right here was _nice_. Gavin leaned back into the embrace, full of mint and bubbly Omega feelings from having the man drape over him like it was his natural born right. A low _good morning_ rumbled in his ear and he made a low answering sound, sinking into his Alpha's heat.

 

 _His_ Alpha – it felt good to finally say that.

 

Tattooed fingers started playing along his happy trail and he chuckled at the way it tickled. Gavin bent over to spit out a mouth full of foam, teasingly wiggling the curve of his ass into the Alpha's crotch with a grin. After a quick laugh, he rinsed and started running hot water over the cloth he'd used on the mirror. He wiped the sleep from his eyes and cleaned his face, choking on his yawn when he felt something hard slowly grinding close to his hole. The thin material of his underwear let the heat of the room sink in and he was feeling sensitive, skin already prickled from Michael's scent.

 

When Gavin straightened up there was more intent in Geoff's gaze, fingers now dancing across and flicking at the thick line of his boxers. The Brit watched as his bare shoulder was kissed, mouth burning a trail up his neck.

 

“Geoff?” Gavin gasped loudly, taken by surprise as the Alpha started to slowly palm his dick. His flesh filled beneath the man's experienced fingers, the head of his cock pinched through the material in a way that made it drip and had his legs shaking. How the hell did Geoff know he liked that? It was a rough gesture but it always got him hot. He hadn't touched either of his boyfriends like this before and he'd been wondering when they would move forward. But here in the bathroom, with Michael just behind a curtain?

 

“Michael told me you looked beautiful like this.”

 

Gavin wasn't sure what he meant until he remembered during one of their scenting sessions. They'd been down to their boxers, mouths latched to each other's necks as they humped desperately for friction. Michael had wriggled a hand in between them and groped him, just a tease to get a reaction. But Gavin had bucked up, threatening to throw him off, and the red haired Omega had done what came naturally – he'd tried to pinch his thigh. Instead he'd caught the tip of Gavin's cock and he'd nearly blown right then and there. Had Michael told Geoff? Did he know about the other times to the two Omegas had crossed the line of friendship and more?

 

“We didn't do anything bad, Geoff,” Gavin babbled nervously. “Just a bit of rutting, I promise. We barely even kissed before we got together. I didn't want you to get angry.”

 

“How could I ever get angry?” Geoff scoffed, nipping at the fluttering pulse under the boy's jaw like a punishment for even thinking such a thing. “You think there's something my Omega does that I don't know about? That he didn't ask my permission to play with you?”

 

It was pure Alpha talk coming out of the older man and Gavin lapped it up hungrily, noticeably twitching under his fingers. Goosebumps crept up his stomach and his nipples started to get stiffen, peeking out of his chest hair.

 

“I wouldn't have cared if he didn't,” Geoff admitted, locking eyes with the Omega in the mirror. A smirk curved his lips as he squeezed _hard_. “I bet you're so pretty together. Can't wait for my boys to put on a show for me.” The Alpha started toying with the three buttons that kept the flap of his boxers together. The first one was pecked apart with ease. “I hear you turn into an absolute _wreck_ beneath Michael. He says your _loud,_ Gavvy, is that true?” The second fell away, the first peek of hard flesh teasing at the side. “And that's just from dry humping like a couple of teenagers. Imagine how you'd sound with Michael's mouth really working you over.”

 

Geoff's fingers dipped into the slit of his boxers as his beard scraped the Brit's ear and neck. “He's a tight little cocksucker.”

 

A full body shudder went through Gavin at the words but a moan tore out of his throat as the Alpha's calloused hand fished his cock out of his underwear. The air was so warm and it felt good to be unrestrained, the edges of his boxers tickling the base of his cock, but his face _burned_ when he saw the motion in the mirror. He was embarrassingly hard already and it looked obscene. They'd been naked in front of each other loads of times, Michael too, but now they were both turned on and it meant so much more.

 

“Look at you, Gavvy.” Geoff didn't touch him, not at first. Instead he leered and started to smirk, the hard bulge of his cock rutting slowly against the Omega's ass. His hand reached out and Gavin gasped before the very underside of his dick was caressed, tracing the vein up to the spot beneath the crown that made his whole groin tingle. The man's nail grazed the edge of his foreskin, the flesh already pulled tight to allow most of the head of his cock to be exposed. “Your pretty dick's all red and ripe. And you feel so _hot_.”

 

The word was hissed as a thumb tapped at the wet head. Gavin closed his eyes, breath shuddering as he tried to figure out what to do though his own instincts were already growling at him to submit. He wanted to give in so badly but right here in the bathroom? Without Michael? There was slick noise and he opened his eyes, mouth falling open when he saw the Gent lathering his fingers around the same bar of soap by the tap he himself had used to wash his face.

 

“Wait, Geoff, maybe we…” the words trickled into a breathless titter as slick, soapy digits wrapped around his shaft and started to pump. It only took a few strokes and close observing for Geoff to pick up on what he liked, the Alpha tuned in to every gasp and twitch of his hips and his grip was _tight_. Gavin started gently fucking into his fist, lashes fluttering wildly as he tried to protest, to say that Michael was right there and that this felt way too good to be doing. But dry fingers prodded his lips and his first Omega impulse was to open his mouth and let them inside. The pads just touched his teeth at first, quieting his useless noises, and then slid over the tip of his tongue.

 

“Shhh,” Geoff bore down on the slick muscle, keeping his boy silent, “Open for Alpha.”

 

Gavin moaned around the intrusion. The gradual press didn’t trigger his gag reflex and he preened at the Alpha’s thoughtfulness. Every time Geoff’s fingers bumped along the ridge of his cock or squeezed at the base, Gavin would suck harder on the digits and try not to spazz about from the sheer sensation. Geoff tasted warm and citrusy on his tongue, refreshing, like a lemon in his water. His nails were neat and if he suckled hard enough he could almost taste the metallic flecks of his tattoos.

 

“That’s it, boy,” Geoff murmured into his ear, adamantly watching their reflections as the Omega went glassy eyed and obedient against him. “It feels good, doesn’t it? Move those gorgeous hips. _Yes_ , just like that.” His grip tightened up a bit and the head of the boy's cock flushed darker, sparks of sensation dancing through it. “I bet if I slipped my fingers inside your ass, it’d be as wet as your mouth.”

 

There was a tight, tingling warmth building up between his thighs and the filthy words only fueled it. Geoff’s eyes were gliding over him in the reflection, eyeing the way his cock leaked over his fist and the heave of his chest as he tried to breathe through the onslaught of pleasure. Gavin was whining almost continuously now, the sound growing higher in pitch as he started inching toward the edge. The Alpha wouldn’t let up for a second. He twisted his wrist on the up-thrust and made sure to dig his thumb in when he reached the base of the Omega’s shaft, teasing the nerve endings that thickly wrapped around where a knot lacked.

 

Geoff groaned softly near his ear, scenting his hair. “Daddy's got you.”

 

Gavin’s whine broke off sharply and the fingers slipped out of his mouth just in time for him to call the Alpha’s name, a warning as he felt liquid heat surge up through his cock. He quivered uselessly and tore his eyes away from the mirror where Geoff was watching with nearly-black eyes and greedy huffs of his scent. It was too much, he couldn’t bear the intimacy or he was afraid he’d melt through the floor. But what he saw made him bite his lip and buck into Geoff’s grasp, spilling harder and striping over porcelain and wood.

 

Michael had shucked back the shower curtain, water still raining over pale skin and glistening tattoos. His boy was leaning against the wall, one foot braced on the edge of the large tub to keep him steady. Michael’s pink lips were bitten and as flushed as his hard cock. The other Omega was slowly touching himself, watching, enjoying the show.

 

“You look good, Gav.”

 

His knees gave out and he would’ve cracked his head off the counter if Geoff hadn’t been quick to catch him, going down to the floor with the Brit to sit him in his lap instead of the hard tile. Gavin panted through the aftermath of his orgasm, cheeks pink for another reason entirely as he realized he’d been watched by both his boyfriend’s. It was hot – fucking hell, it had made him blow twice as hard seeing Michael like that – but he felt more on display than involved.

 

But then Geoff started mouthing at the nape of his neck, crooning about what a good boy he’d been, and everything felt a lot better.

 

o0o0o0o

 

Gavin came into the house, shedding his jacket and bag, kicking off his shoes, sighing heavily. The day had been tiring and he wanted a beer and some crap telly before falling asleep. Thankfully Geoff had been working beside them since the rest of the crew didn't often come in on Fridays. RvB needed some over time but his Alpha had been sweet and let him go home a little early. And by 'early', he meant before the sun set completely.

 

There was something savory in the hair, sweet but musky, and he was follow his nose long before he noticed the soft buzzing in the air. The sound and smell was coming from Geoff's bedroom and his exhausted, muddled mind couldn't really wrap around what it was – not at first. He licked his lips and tried to swallow in the air, nearly tasting something like the sweet cherries they put on ice cream sundaes. It was a damn assault on his senses and he felt like he was floating to the open doorway. His proverbial feet and jaw hit the floor at the vision on the bed.

 

Michael was spread out on the rumpled bedding. Sweat gleamed on his thighs and the curve of his neck, beading across his forehead and dampening his curls. He was pink all over in the way he seemed to get when he was turned on, cheeks ruddy, cock shiny with lube and flushed a couple shades darker. His legs were spread wide and there was a pillow peeking out from under his ass, braced under his hips to keep them up. He was pumping his dick, head thrown back on the pillow, moaning to the ceiling and lost in his own touch. 

 

And the vibrations of the toy tucked between his plump, shaking thighs. The toy was a vibrant violet color, the white handle curved up and pressed under his balls (which where already drawn up _so_ tight) while the rest was buried deep inside is wet, grasping hole. Slick was dripping in thick rivulets down onto the blanket, soaking into the pillow in its journey. The toy was buzzing joyfully, the Omega's rim flexing and twitching around it. It must've been hooked against his sweet spot because he was moaning like he was dying.

 

Gavin squeezed himself through his jeans, thumb rubbing hard over the button as he thought of opening his fly to give his dick some real relief. _I shouldn't be watching this._ But the rest of him was screaming to stay, to touch him, to join in. That was his boy all hot and bothered on the bed. He could help, he could make Michael feel so good – he knew he could. Stroke his dick for him, suck the tip, lick up his slick, bite at the dark peaks of his nipples until the Omega begged him to stop.

 

“G-Gav?” Michael gulped, his thoughtful frown disappearing as he bit his lip and tried to sit up. The toy slid deeper and he let out a shuddering moan.

 

“I'm sorry, Michael,” Gavin rasped, trying to clear the husk from his throat. “I should've knocked.” He thumbed behind him though his feet didn't move. “I'll just...”

 

“No,” Michael protested weakly, reaching out for him like he could grab him from the bed, “Why don't you come in here and help, Gavvers? _Fuck_ , I'm already halfway there, it'd be easy.”

 

Gavin fumbled around an excuse and the other Omega whined in general protest, still stroking his cock. “ _Gavin_ , come _on_. I'm already so fucking wet. You could take this thing out and fuck me?”

 

The image and the Omega's eager gaze set him on fire and he didn't know what to do. Reacting on impulse, Gavin slammed the door and ran to his room. He tugged off all his clothes and slithered under the covers, pulling them over his head like a protective cocoon. He took big gulps of his own scent to try and calm down but there were traces of Michael everywhere. On his pillow, in the threads of the blanket, on his sheets – he couldn't get away.

 

Gavin uncurled just enough to wrap his hand around his still hard dick, the corner of the pillow edged between his teeth as he worked himself almost too quickly to feel good. He didn't know what the hell was wrong with him. He could be back in the bedroom with his boyfriend but instead he was tossing off himself like a teenager who didn't know what to do with himself.

 

He came with a grunt, his only thought being that he hoped Michael wasn't angry at him.

 

Back in the bedroom, Michael flopped down on the bed with a growl of frustration. A couple hours later after a good orgasm (that could have been better with some help) and a nap, Michael emerged from the bedroom and slunk around looking for his boyfriends. He found them on the couch together, mics set up for them to do a _Let's Build_. They were already three beers in and pretty happy so he didn't fuck with them. He silently slid onto the couch and tucked his head onto Geoff's lap, stretching his feet out onto Gavin's and ignoring the squawk of protest he got from the Brit.

 

The three of them settled in for the night but there was still a lot of unanswered questions between them. Questions that were going to get answered, God damn it.

 

o0o0o0o

 

“I don't _want_ to play _Far Cry_ again, Michael! Let's play _Halo_.”

 

“We fucking play _Halo_ everyday, asshole.”

 

“We never play CE,” Gavin whined. “It'll be fun.”

 

“Fuck you, man. I'd rather play Mario.”

 

“Not bloody go karting again.”

 

Geoff reclined on the couch, watching his boys with hungry eyes and a stirring cock. They'd been arguing for about twenty minutes and at one point they had both crawled over to the entertainment center to dig through the impressive collection of Xbox games the three had hoarded below the TV. They were on their hands and knees, hips shifting occasionally and backs arched beautifully in a parody of a much more fun act. They were a gorgeous pair. _And they're all mine._

 

Their aggression, as playful as it was, had kicked up their scents. Michael with his sweet, almost artificial scent and Gavin smelling like the fields women in commercials frolicked in. Fresh cut flowers and cherries and that ever present curl of arousal that seemed to exist between the Omega boys. Geoff's mind started to wander and his gaze zeroed in on denim clad asses and what laid beneath them. He slumped further in the cushion, hand coming down to casually adjust his swelling cock.

 

Geoff couldn't wait to eat Gavin out. He could spread the Omega out on the floor right now, strip him down to just his shirt, palm his thighs until the boy spread for him. He'd make Michael watch him lick up Gavin's slick right in front of him. The Brit would whimper and bury his face in his arms, maybe beg him to stop because it was too much, but Geoff wouldn't – not until he was dizzy and drunk from the taste of his boy. He could imagine Gavin tasted like flowery wine. Mulled, pressed petals and deep flavored, almost musky. Like the stuff Griffon used to keep around the house. He'd coax Gavin open with his tongue until the boy was misty-eyed and _dripping_.

 

And when Gavin would be thrusting against the rough carpet and begging for something thicker inside him, Geoff would grab his other shorter Omega and lay him out on top of Gavin, pale limbs settling over tan ones. Michael would nuzzle into Gavin's hair and Geoff would move the boy up until his ass was resting above the other's, leaving the Brit's wet hole exposed. Michael would have to spread his legs, laying along his boy, straddling his waist and exposing his own little entrance.

 

Michael would rut his candy pink cock into the small of Gavin's back, biting at the nape of his neck, and he'd start to get wet just from being exposed. With their two plump asses on display, Geoff could slide two fingers up inside his youngest boy's hot ass and lick over Michael's own. They'd moan together, both grinding and writhing uselessly together as their Alpha fucked into them. They'd both open beautifully, slick pooling and smearing against their skin and all over Geoff's chin and wrist.

 

His boys stacked on top of each other, crying out his name and begging for more.

 

Geoff snapped out of it when he realized Gavin had left for the kitchen and Michael was glaring at him with a knowing smirk.

 

“You dirty old man.”

 

Geoff shrugged and squeezed his cock through his jeans. “Can't help it. This old man has some pretty young boys to take care of him.”

 

o0o0o0o

 

Gavin was starting to lose it. Like, bloody mental. He hunched down in his seat as he tried to edit, one ear exposed and on high alert, beanie pulled down over his hair and thick hoody covering the rest of him. He kept a paranoid eye out for either of Geoff or Michael in shameless self-preservation. His friends were being insane and he wasn’t pissed off as much as he was paranoid of another attack.

 

Michael had fisted his hair in the break room, yanking a squeak out of him in front of a few of their coworkers. “Did you like that?”

 

“Did I bloody _what_?” Gavin had demanded, rubbing his aching roots.

 

“Did that turn you on?” Michael elaborated with a straight face.

 

Blaine and Chris had their heads together, snickering, and it made the Brit blush. “I’m going to kill you, Michael Jones.”

 

Geoff kept grabbing him at weird times, always with a smirk too. He’d just manhandle him in the office, pulling him into headlocks and into his chair and stuff, but at home it was a different story. Geoff would snag his arm and pull it up behind his back, force him against the couch or the wall or whatever was convenient. Gavin had popped a hard-on every time but his dick was confused by the Alpha’s calm voice in his ear asking him to rate how he felt on a scale of one to ten.

 

Michael had printed off a damn spreadsheet with more kinks on it than he’d known existed and he’d run from the room to avoid it.

 

They both kept nipping and licking him, beyond that of scenting, and he was in a constant state of blue balls. They would dig their nails in a little when they touched him and then stare at him quizzically as if trying to figure out how much he liked it.

 

Gavin had caught on quick to what they were doing. Okay, that was a lie, but Ryan pointed it out and then it was obvious. They were feeling him out, trying to see if he was as kinky as they were. They wanted to know what he liked to better ‘engage’ him or whatever. Ryan had been pretty relaxed and scientific about it all and it made sense. The Omega part of him was glad for the attention but there were better ways to go about finding out his kinks. Like talking to him about it.

 

Oh. _Oh_.

 

Like how he hadn't talked to them about how he didn't feel comfortable jumping into bed with them. About how he was feeling uncertain. He hadn't been communicating or whatever the hell couples were supposed to do and his boyfriends had picked up on it. The passive-aggressive bastards – they were trying to teach him a lesson and turn him on at the same time. Clever shits.

 

o0o0o0o

 

Gavin knew better. He'd been through this before and he knew it could only lead to blue balls and frustration. The door was wide open. Gavin only had to take a deep breath a single step before he was there and could see the scene inside.

 

Geoff didn't notice him right away. The Alpha was flat on his back, hands on his mate's hips as he fucked up into him with firm, almost harsh thrusts and grunts of exertion. Tattooed hands guided the Omega on top of him in a fast grind that had the boy slick with sweat along his chest and forehead. His curls were flat along his brow. He had mouth-shaped bruises littering his stomach and thighs, blooms of color all around his red, swollen nipples. The Alpha's teeth could almost be counted in the darkening bruises and they looked _lovely._

 

Gavin wet his lips as he thought about kissing them, licking the ache from his skin so slow and nice that Michael would forget he'd ever been bit.

 

Geoff had the boy bouncing in his lap, all that voluptuous Omega flesh heaving with each thrust. That softness promised fertility and a whole slew of age-old mating things that male Omegas actually couldn't do but had survived evolution by mimicking in their female counterparts. Gavin knew he wasn't wired like an Alpha but somehow his little canines still wanted to sink into Michael's skin to mark and bury his scent into his very cells. It was very primal and amazing and kind of scary.

 

Michael saw Gavin the second he stepped into the door, a smirk coming to his bitten lips before he slapped his palms down on the Alpha's chest and started to take over. Geoff groaned beneath him, the Omega baring down on his dick like a vice every time he dropped down full-hilt. The pace picked up and Michael's blood-heavy cock smacked wetly against his stomach, looking enticing the way it throbbed and leaked. From the slick sounds of each thrust, his boy was dripping _everywhere_. And he was staring right at him. Not a challenge – an invitation.

 

Geoff snarled and bucked up hard, the faint swell of his knot tugging at the boy's rim. Michael tossed his head a little with a pretty moan of _Gavin_. The Brit whined past his pursed lips at the way his name sounded lilted with pleasure like that in his boy's usually gruff voice. The Alpha paused and craned his head back, dark eyes rounding as his hair mussed on the sheets.

 

“Gav?”

 

Michael growled and raised his hand up only to smack him again, this time with more intent. “I didn't say stop, asshole.”

 

“But-”

 

“No buts, unless it's mine.” Michael grabbed him by the hair and forced him to look away from the other Omega, kissing him hard before starting to bounce again. Geoff tried to protest but he was helpless under his tight little mate, only able to hold on to his rolling hips and enjoy the ride. “Get in here.”

 

Gavin shook his head. “You're busy, I should...”

 

“Get your ass in here,” Michael repeated lowly, scratching over his Alpha's nipple to get a hiss out of him. “And close the door.”

 

Gavin slowly obeyed, body almost out of his control as he heard the serious tone in his boy's voice. He shut the door and leaned against it, regretting the damn skinny jeans he often wore as his dick started to ache in the bad way being all wrapped up in denim.

 

“Sit,” Michael ordered breathlessly, the Brit slid down the door until he was on the carpet. “That has to hurt, Gavvy.” The other Omega was eyeing the bulge in his pants. “Open those up and let it out, man.”

 

“Michael...”

 

“I want to see it,” Michael demanded, words trailing off in a moan when the Alpha's cock dragged over his prostate. Geoff made a rough sound, somewhere between scolding Michael for pushing their boy and wanting Gavin to join in. “Shut up down there.”

 

Gavin thumbed open his fly and wiggled his pants down until his jock was exposed. He'd forgot he'd worn them this morning and his ears pinked up, but Michael purred at the sight. “You and your little jocks, Gav.” The Brit hesitated, fingering the edge of the underwear. “Come on, boy, don't be shy. _This_ -” He ground his hips and clenched, getting his Alpha to moan loudly. “-makes you hot, right? Show me.”

 

Gavin closed his eyes for a few moments and nodded, admitting to himself and to them that he wanted this. They were beautiful writhing together, an Alpha deeply fucking his Omega, and their combined sweet-lemon-and-Coke-and-hot-metal scent was making him dizzy and his balls throb as all the blood rushed south. He wriggled off his clingy jeans and kicked them aside before he hooked his fingers in the band of his jock on each side of his hip. Michael nodded encouraging, slowing hips to a casual ride that made his Alpha show his teeth in frustration.

 

Chewing the corner of his lip, Gavin quickly slid the jock down until it caught on his ankle. He watched the other Omega's mouth drop open and pearly white drops of need bead at the tip of his painfully hard cock. He was turning his boy on and somehow that made his arousal level bump up, the first traces of slick starting between his legs.

 

“Touch yourself,” Michael panted, fingers clawing on the Alpha's chest and digging blunt nails into damp skin. Geoff's hand shot up and wrapped around the base of his throat. The Omega's whimper was breathy and he rolled his hips harder in a more satisfying pace for his mate. “Geoff, come on, I'm ha- _ah_ -having a moment here.”

 

“What was that, _boy_?”

 

The Alpha's growl made Gavin whine in a instinctive reply, eyes on the floor as he spread his thighs wide enough to expose everything. It was pure impulse, a need to soothe an angry Alpha, and he winced when he felt his hole flex and slick sluice down his skin to soak into the carpet. He could smell how turned on he was and by the way Michael and Geoff's eyes snapped to him they could smell it too.

 

“Daddy,” Michael rasped, gaze trained on the other Omega's cock as long fingers slowly curled around it, “ _Please_. I just wanna' play. He's so pretty and needy for us.”

 

“Then move so I can watch,” Geoff demanded.

 

Michael saw the way the other Omega tensed and his legs twitched like he wanted to hide the delicious view of his wet hole. “Stay there, okay? Let me do this.”

 

The hand on his neck tightened and he whimpered appeasingly, riding the Alpha's cock harder until Geoff finally agreed and relaxed on the bed once more. He could read his Omega like a book and though he couldn't see Gavin he had sensed the _ting_ of bitter fear in the air. It had only been for a few seconds but he'd let his boy take the lead.

 

Gavin started working his cock, legs shifting restlessly as his muscles twitched from the first wash of pleasure. His head thunked against the door and he didn't close his eyes, afraid to miss even a moment of the way his boy was staring lustfully between his thighs. Michael licked his full lips, the expression on his face saying he'd be happy to lap up all the slick that was getting wasted on the carpet. Feeling bold, Gavin drew one leg closer to his chest to show off more.

 

Michael's hand shot to the base of his own cock and squeezed, tip leaking warningly as he staved off a premature finish. “You look good down there, boy.”

 

Gavin smirked, thumbing the head of his dick. “You look real nice up there on our Alpha's knot, boy.”

 

“You haven't seen anything yet.”

 

Gavin had to keep his strokes slow so not to finish too soon because Michael kicked up the tempo to a feverish level that made the younger Omega sweat just looking at it. Gavin watched Geoff work and it was like art in motion, tattooed arms flexing and fingers grasping to help him fuck up into the open body above him. The Alpha looked amazing and pushed all his buttons. He wanted to crawl over there and help. He wanted to be on the receiving end of all that raw power, to taste Geoff's lips, to bare his throat, to be filled by that gloriously thick cock. He could see it, bare and covered in Omega slick, peeking out from between their bodies every time Michael moved up. He wanted to taste it, see what their musk was like all mixed together like that. But Gavin kept all those thoughts to himself, a small part of him too scared to ask for more in case they decided to kick him out or thought he was being too greedy. They would never do such a thing, he knew this, but he held back just in case.

 

Michael's eyes fell shut and his mouth dropped open further, panting wetly. “F-Fuck, Daddy, do it. Knot me so fucking good and deep in front of our boy.”

 

Geoff really growled at that, surging up, burying his cock deep inside the Omega as his knot started to swell up. Michael moved with him, two bodies so familiar with each other working together, the Omega's body tightening up to give the man's knot something to really grind against. The pressure seemed to get to Geoff and in moments he was gasping for breath and going still, muscles flexing impressively and hips shifting in small circles as he started to really spill inside the boy.

 

“God yes,” Michael moaned, head falling back as his hole clenched around the base of the man's knot, the tug against his rim telling him he wasn't going to be getting away any time soon. And then his Alpha's seed started to pulsing inside him to the point where he could almost feel the splash. “Love this part, Alpha. It's hot, almost – _shit_ , Geoff – almost too hot. There's...” His brows furrowed up, head lifting up as he tried put off coming despite how good he felt. “...so much. I can feel it all.”

 

“My good boy,” Geoff rumbled, panting as a second load started emptying into his lovely Omega. “You love how I breed you nice and deep, boy? Look at you taking it all like a good bitch. In another life, baby, and I'd be putting a litter in your sweet little belly. You take me so well – you would've caught that first night you begged for my knot.”

 

“Daddy,” Michael whined, eyes cracking open and finding Gavin's own, which were glittering green and wide in amazement, “Geoff, please, wait, I-I'm gonna-”

 

Geoff held the Omega still with one hand on his hip, the other wrapping around his cock. “Go on. Show our boy how good you look milking my knot.”

 

Michael started making these punched out grunts that were almost cut-off laughs, lips twitching like he wanted to smile. Gavin thought his boy had never looked more beautiful – hair plastered to his forehead, cheeks splotchy with color, desperate, freckles disappearing in a lustful body flush as he was pushed to the edge. And then he started to spill against his stomach, thick white drops trailing down his pulsing cock and making a bigger mess between their bodies.

 

Never once did he look away.Gavin whined when he felt a gush of slick along his skin and the rug.

 

Michael's shoulders slumped, hands still braced on the Alpha's chest as his half-lidded gaze burned through the younger Omega. “Gavin.”

 

It was a simple husk of his name. It had been puffed into his ear the same way a dozen times but always in the dim light of his bedroom, both of them hard in the safety of their boxers while they sucked red marks into each other's necks. It was beautiful and raw and it felt like a command, one he couldn't disobey even if he wanted to. His last few pumps were slower, body rocking into his own touch though his hole _ached_ for someone to fill it. He moaned softly as he felt himself dripping over his own fingers, eyes rolling into the back of his head as pure bliss spread through him. It didn't last long and he slumped once the last drop was gone, limbs loose and rubbery. He knew he was making embarrassing sounds but he didn't care. He felt wonderful and kind of weak, the scent of his boyfriends swirling around him and padding his head until he couldn't remember what the world was like without it.

 

When Gavin finally looked up both men were staring at him with dark, greedy eyes. Geoff had his head all the way back, sweat beading along his hairline, teeth clamped on his lower lip. Michael had the same kind of needy, awed expression. They looked ready to pounce. An image of the two of them licking him clean came to mind. He would brace his hands on the bed, Michael would kneel in front of him and lick the spend from his stomach, and Geoff would be behind him lapping up the slick from his hole.

 

“Get the fuck over here.”

 

Gavin jolted at Michael's sudden order, legs snapping closed.

 

The red haired Omega laughed breathlessly, hips rolling slowly to make Geoff groan. “I'd come to you, boy, but I'm stuck.”

 

Gavin grabbed his dark jock and quickly tugged it on, sweat and cum and all that embarrassing Omega slick soaking into it. He realized how small it actually was as he tucked his limp cock inside it, and he wondered if he was buying them smaller on purpose or if he was just bad at sizes. There was no way he'd get his jeans back on all filthy like this. He got up and walked over to the bed, trying to tug his shirt down to cover himself a little.

 

Michael reached out and snagged his hand the moment he was close enough, drawing the digits up to his face to suck the cum off his skin. Each finger was taken into the Omega's hot mouth, clever tongue flicking and digging into the lines of his knuckles to get every last bit of taste. Gavin sighed shakily as his boy finally pulled off with a wet _pop._ “Wanna' stay in here tonight?”

 

That was something they hadn't done yet. They napped on the couch together a lot, and Michael had slept in his room a lot, but they hadn't all three shared Geoff's bed – the main bed of their house, their nest. But he found himself shaking his head. They were knotted and Michael would need to be grounded, the two would scent and bond and he hadn't been a part of it, not really, so he had no right to stay. “I shouldn't.”

 

Michael chittered quietly and drew him closer. Another hand, Geoff's, hooked on his hip and together the couple urged him to sit on the edge of the bed. Gavin wanted to protest but then his boy kissed him nice and sweet and his mind went all fuzzy again. He reached out and thumbed the red mark Geoff's rough choking had left on Micheal's skin, humming as his fingers trailed up and smoothed back damp curls. There was an answering touch as the older Omega smoothed over his shirt and tucked his hair behind his ears.

 

“My boys grooming each other,” Geoff mused happily.

 

“You don't have to stay if you don't want to, Gavvy,” Michael soothed, still pecking his lips every few words. “We want you here so bad, but you don't have to.” Gavin purred against his mouth and it made him smile. “Don't look so scared, boy. No rush.”

 

“Thank you, Michael,” he murmured, a little hazy being so close to his boyfriends. He couldn't help but eye his boy's half hard, pink cock and the perfect spread of his thighs over their Alpha's fleshy hips. Miles of tattooed skin and sex flush for him to drink in.

 

“Give him a kiss, Geoff,” Michael demanded petulantly. “He looks like he's going to pass out.”

 

Gavin shook his head, wanting to say that he was fine, but there were no words after the Alpha sat up and the muscles in his chest pulled and tightened. His mouth went dry he simpered dumbly before Geoff grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and dragged him into a kiss. The Alpha's mouth were chapped and perfect, hot tongue sweeping out to part his lips and meet his own. Michael whimpered beside them as the man's knot shifted within him.

 

“Make him stay, Daddy.”

 

The airy, soft tone coming out of his boy made Gavin pull away in shock. Michael was chewing his lip, slowly rocking on the Alpha's knot, cock already starting to plump up again. That word, _Daddy_ , put fire in Gavin's belly. He was ready to kiss the hell out of Michael's filthy mouth when a broad palm cupped his clothed cock, fingers teasing over his balls and the sensitive spot behind them. The Brit rocked into it without thinking, the hand on his neck keeping him from falling back onto the bed. He was kissed again, mouth thoroughly plundered as he was shamelessly groped. One of his hands was stolen and brought around behind Michael, fingertips tracing over where the two mates were tied together.

 

“Christ,” Gavin whimpered, chest shaking as he turned his head to try and clear his head. The Alpha nipped at the gland just beneath his jaw and all his efforts were for naught.

 

“You sure, baby boy?” Geoff's beard tickle his neck.

 

“N-Next time?” he offered.

 

“Okay.” Geoff pulled back and gave one of those easy smile, thumb tenderly rubbing at the boy's hairline along his nape before dropping his hand. “We'll see you in the morning?”

  
Gavin nodded and stood up on his shaky legs, tugging to try and get his wrist out of Michael's grip. “Michael.”

 

“But...” He got a glare from is Alpha. “Okay. Night, Gavin.”

 

“Night, boy.”

 

o0o

 

The next day in the office Gavin couldn't help but stare at his boyfriends with a small amount of jealousy. He had no reason to, he could've easily joined in last night, but there was an obvious fresh bond between the two of them. That physical, intimate act had brought them together in a way only sex could. He'd refused them and now he was regretting it. He should have at least cuddled with them afterward, maybe helped clean Michael up before settling between them. But no, he had to be stubborn. _I'm a bloody idiot._

 

Geoff was at his desk and he had Michael in his lap, the younger man making a whole assortment of happy Omega noises as he nuzzled into the Alpha's neck and accepted the loving pets he was given. Geoff played with the boy's hair, fingers swirling in growing ginger curls, and he when he wasn't stroking he was resting his hand in the dip of his back. They had been scenting each other with hearts in their eyes for nearly an hour, both a little drunk off it and completely useless. They were murmuring nonsense to each other, showing a rare moment of the raw affection that had brought them together in the first place. They usually didn't do a lot PDA with all the guys around but today they were practically consumed with each other, butting heads and scrubbing cheeks like courting teenagers.

 

“They remind me of you guys,” Jack had teased Ray and Ryan after seeing the more experienced couple holding hands on the car to lunch.

 

Gavin watched the two now with a pout, feeling a little prickly at the way they groomed one another in a subtle mate way. Michael kept smoothing out Geoff's beard and mustache with tiny coos, and his curls were tamed in the same manner only to be ruffled up so the process could start again. His boyfriends hadn't avoided him in any way, and they hadn't excluded him, but there was a tangible closeness to them and he wanted to enjoy that.

 

He made a promise to himself, right then and there, that he would throw himself into this relationship head first without any boundaries or worries and see where it took him. Anything was better than feeling like he was holding out on them.

 

o0o0o0o

 

Michael had just finished the first verse of “Barbie is a Bitch” and was about to start the chorus when the shower curtain was ripped back. He didn't bother to cover himself but he did bark at Geoff to hurry up. Except it wasn't his Alpha. “Gav?”

 

The lanky Omega grinned at him, all teeth and guile, naked and half-hard. “ 'Sup, boy, room for one more?”

 

Michael practically lit up. “Seriously?”

 

Gavin bobbed his head in a nod, eyes flicking down to the other Omega's interested dick.

 

“Fuck yeah there is!”

 

The moment Michael's hand wrapped around his dick it was like life fell into place, pieces he didn't know fit together sliding side by side. It was so right that he forgot all his ill-founded insecurity. His boyfriends loved him, cared for him enough to court him and respect his wishes, and they would never hurt him or make him feel bad because he didn't have a lot of experience of serious heart-felt fucking – at least, that didn't involve Dan. He'd loved Dan so much, still did, and sex had been easy between them.

 

And that same ease came with Michael, and he couldn't wait to share it with Geoff, and then all three of them.

 

Geoff found them like that ten minutes later, jerking each other off and attached at the mouth. He left them to it and decided to make breakfast, but the Alpha's mind started filling up with a whole new slew of ideas.

 

* * *

 

**To make up for me being in school, here's the Omegaverse canon that[catastrophecat ](http://catastrophecat-the-squid.tumblr.com/)wrote out. I cleaned up some stuff and added a few things, but she is brilliant and beautiful and I loved it the instant I read it.**

 

 

 

 **Cat Explains Alpha/Omega Dynamics-**  
  
 **Alpha Male:** Has a knot, doesn't go through heats, but Omega heats can inspire ruts where they're stamina increases and they can stay up longer to properly take care of their mates. Often compete with each other over mates. Do not self lubricate, releases two-four rounds of seed while knotting. Doesn't often knot while alone unless pressure is applied to the knot. Knots stay inflated from 10-20 minutes, depending on how much pressure is applied and levels of arousal during mating session. (Pressure is key to keep a knot going/getting it started, is what I'm saying.)  
  
 **Alpha Female:** Reverse knot. It’s a ring of muscle inside the vagina that swells during arousal/intercourse, locking an Omega male’s dick in place rather firmly (or Beta or other Alpha, no judgement). It may relax after the male has ejaculated, allowing his penis to slip out, and then tighten again, keeping the sperm locked inside the female, or during cases of strong scent compatibility and biological markers matching it may remain swelled, and the male and female are “knotted” together in a similar fashion to that of a male Alpha and his Omega. This locking can be slightly uncomfortable for the Omega, but usually it serves to heighten their pleasure (if the Alpha does it right, as is the case with male Alphas.)  
  
 **Omega Male:** Slick from the anus to loosen it and prepare it for the entrance of a male Alpha’s penis (or Beta, or other Omega). This is theorized to have developed simply as a coping mechanism for the body, because of the high tendency for male homosexual mating. These males were often side mates, and passed around among Alphas – both male and female (ergo, they still spread on their genes, so it makes sense, evolutionary). Also, in the anatomy department, male Omegas have heavy clusters of nerve endings around the base of their cock where their knots should have been. It would probably be extra sensitive, with lots of nerve endings and such, so as to heighten the Omegas’ pleasure.

 **Omega Female:** Basically a regular vagina, but with a lot more slick. Make Alphas knot their female partners, are knotted together and bred, _BAM_ pregnancy. Heat is when that’s most likely to happen- it’s a period of extra high fertility- but it can happen at other times, cause the menstrual cycle is a thing. (This has been pointed out to me as being wrong because periods/heats are interchangeable. But you accept your own headcanons, this is just mine)  
  
 **Betas:** Just normal humans, but with milder scents that are usually very calming to the other classes

 

 


	62. Mornings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's a glimpse of how mornings go with the AH crew. 
> 
> Warning: Fluff and bad writing.

**Not my best, but I was saving this idea for when I'm concentrated on other things.**

 

* * *

 

Gavin groaned as his phone started going off, the annoying buzzer cutting through his half-formed dream and yanking him up into reality. He stumbled out of bed and around the room, eyes glued shut and mouth bone-dry from mouth breathing all night. He managed to get himself in the shower but it didn't do much to wake him up. A quick glance down the hall showed that Geoff was still asleep. Without the Alpha to dictate breakfast, Gavin spread some jam on a piece of bread and chugged orange juice from the carton. He felt a little naughty doing it but what his boss didn't know wouldn't hurt him. After his belly was full he headed into Geoff's room and knelt beside his sleeping form, slowly bracing his palm on the mattress so as not to wake the man. He pressed a kiss to his cheek.

 

Geoff inhaled deeply and didn't bother to open his eyes before he snagged the Omega's chin, turning his head and drawing him in for a kiss. Gavin chirped happily at the sweet gesture, accepting the kiss though he knew his boyfriend was still mostly asleep.

 

“You get something in your belly?” Geoff asked, voice barely more than a rasp.

 

“Yeah,” he promised.

 

“Good boy.” Geoff rubbed a thumb over the Omega's lower lip, blood shot eyes cracking open just a little. “You got a ride?”

 

“I'm fine, Alpha,” Gavin half-teased, smiling shyly at the name and giving the man another peck on the lips. Geoff's gruff, brief purr was of a satified Pack Alpha and he flopped back on the bed to drift off to sleep once more. The Brit chuckled and nuzzled into dark hair for a few moments before he forced himself to get up and leave.

 

o0o

 

“No, no, where are you going?”

 

Jack made a happy noise when Caiti came up behind him and carefully, so gently, slid his glasses onto his face from behind. She laughed and nuzzled into the bump of his spine.

 

“Ah. There they are.”

  
“You always smell so good in the morning,” Caiti pointed out, kissing the mark she'd left on her husband's neck the night before. “Did you already text Geoff?”

 

Jack nodded, pouring coffee for both of them. It was a morning ritual on work weeks that after his alarm clock went off he text Geoff to tell the man to get up. If he didn't get a text back telling him to fuck off he would wait a half hour before calling to make sure the Alpha actually got to work on time. Geoff was a grown-ass man but he was also one of his best friends and he knew how hard it was for him to get going in the morning. And Jack was his Beta – keeping Alphas on track and soothing ruffled Omegas were the best part of his job.

 

He turned around and handed her a steaming mug, stealing a kiss while she was distracted. “You're gorgeous. Do I tell you that enough? Because you are.”

 

“Mm-hmm, you big lug.” Caiti elbowed him with a pleased grin. “You're still going to pay the water bill.”

 

“No,” Jack whined pitifully, “I have to drive _so_ far out of my way.”

 

“I _know_ , right?” His wife shrugged like 'what could you do?' as she retreated to the bedroom with her mug. “But I'm not changing out of my pajamas today and you're getting the car, so...”

 

“You're so mean.”

 

“You're the love of my life!” Caiti called, followed by a loud slurp.

 

“You're walking the dog!”

 

“My moon and stars!”

 

o0o

 

 **Gavvy:** _**You on your way to work boi?** _

**MyLovelyLittleBoi:** _**Gettin in the car. U want breakfast?** _

**Gavvy:** _**Yeah but come by and pick me up? Geoff's got a late start** _

**MyLovelyLittleBoi:** _**15 mins be outside** _

**Gavvy:** _**You're the best** _

**MyLovelyLittleBoi:** _**Tell me something I don't know** _

 

o0o

 

Gavin yawned and pulled his jacket tighter around him. The morning was cold and grey, sun still hidden behind smog and clouds in the early hour. He sat on the steps of the front porch, bag by his hip and sneakered feet clacking loudly together in front him. His eyelids drooped and he was tempted to go back inside and crawl into bed with his Alpha.

 

“My Alpha,” Gavin whispered to himself, lips turning up at the corners. His eyes fell closed for a few moments as he tasted the word on his tongue. A car revved nearby and then there was a short honk. He picked up his head and spotted Michael’s semi-beat up car at the end of the driveway. _My Omega._

 

Gavin crawled into the car and pressed a grateful kiss to Michael’s cheek before he was barked at to sit properly. Just to be a spiteful little git, Gavin hunched down low in his seat and kicked his feet up on the dash. The other Omega grumbled but there was a hint of a smile on his face when he put the car into drive and took off.

 

Michael’s iPod was plugged into speakers and the screen was lit up to show the words “Lindsay's Playlist” at the top, some near-pop song Gavin had never heard of playing. The words drifted around them, putting a more upbeat note to their dreary morning.

 

_'You know that I'd be lying if I said I wasn't quite bored of you yet. And your consistent nagging and your constant state of panic is unnecessary stress for me...'_

 

The older Omega's thumb was tapping out a loud beat on the steering wheel and every thump grated on his nerves a little. Gavin reached out and snagged his boyfriend's hand, lacing their fingers together and bringing it up to put a kiss on the back of his knuckles. The skin there was so incredibly soft and dotted with freckles just like the rest of him. Michael glanced over at him and once they hit a red light he turned his full attention to the Brit, wiggling his fingers free so they could card through the other Omega's hair. It was the color of the fancy Starbucks coffee Lindsay would sometimes bring them in the morning, soft and fine under his fingers, but most importantly it was limp. He was so used to the Omega preening and fluffing himself up in the morning before Michael himself even got out of bed. Gavin took a lot of pride in his appearance – always spraying himself with some hair concoction or another and wiggling his pretty hips into too-tight pants. Michael used to be jealous at how good his boyfriend managed to get himself to look but now he could just appreciate it.

 

He could wear his hoodies and his beanies, Gavin could show off his ass, and they both got Geoff's attention.

 

“I forget that it doesn't do that gravity defying shit naturally,” Michael stated, brushing the bangs out of the other's eyes. “You should leave it more often. You look younger.”

 

“Thinking about me all young and spry, boy?” Gavin teased, butting up into the light touch. “Too bad you weren't around when I first changed, before either of us really fell for Geoff. I would've been riding your cock before the night was over.”

 

Michael gaped and someone behind them honked. The light had turned green.

 

Gavin shot the Omega a grin as the car roared and jerked forward. “Was thinking about it the minute I saw you standing there at the airport, to be honest.”

 

Michael's ears pinked around the shell. “Even after I hit you?”

 

“I heard your name and when I learned you were with Geoff...kinda' fell a bit for you, boy.” He hung his head and stared down at the pale hand that had dropped down onto his chest. “Arse over tits, really.”

 

Michael squeezed his fingers, letting them tangle up again. “I saw that video where Dan shot you n the ass and you were moaning like a little fucking slut. You made this _noise_ and all I thought about your stupid mouth on my dick.”

 

The Brit blinked dumbly. “Did you really, Michael?”

 

Michael nodded, the lack of sarcasm or shitty comment affirming that it was the truth. “I mean, I hated you because I thought Geoff was fucking you on the side, but that didn't mean you were any less hot.”

 

“You buttering me up, boy?” Gavin pressed.

 

“Like you aren't always wet for me,” Michael snorted crudely.

 

“Michael!”

 

“It's fucking true!”

 

o0o

 

“Okay, okay,” Ryan whined, hand slapping around until he found his phone. He flicked off the alarm with an impatient huff. He thought hard about getting up, fantasized about it, but he couldn't quite get the rest of him to comply. He got up on his elbows and knees, rolling the stiffness out of his shoulders at first before working all the way down his body to his hips. He must have slept on his side because they felt a little tender. They were shaken loose and after some feline-esque stretching they felt loads better. He cursed quietly as he slid to the floor and stretched out a bit more, shedding his shirt and tossing it into the hamper across the room. He bent his knees and curled his hands behind his head, ready to stick to his commitment to doing a few dozen sits ups and push ups in the morning to keep his metabolism up during the week.

 

_Have to look good for my potential mate._

 

The thought made him grin like a love-struck idiot. Ray, his sweet Omega. Not his yet completely, but soon. Their courtship was going great and he had never been happier. He hadn't felt this young and giddy in his twenties. He doubted anyone could have brought this out in him.

 

Thinking of the Omega – laughing, spread out in front of him, curled beside him as he slept, creaming his pants like a teenager in his lap – Ryan fell back asleep on the carpet.

 

o0o

 

Geoff could smell the pot of coffee his boy had put on before he left. He scrubbed tattooed knuckles over his eyes to try and get the sleep out of them. He threw off the sheets and padded in his boxers to the kitchen, humming like a pleased Alpha when he spotted the steaming pot. He fixed himself a cup and settled at the table, sipping at it and getting his thoughts organized for the day. He already had two texts, one from Jack probably telling him to get up and the other from Burnie asking him where he is.

 

There was a tingling in the back of his head and it was making his mustache twitch over the top of his mug. He pulled his cellphone over from across the table and lazily pecked at it until it started dialing. It was five or six rings before his friend picked up.

 

“Hey there, Alpha Junior,” Geoff cooed into the receiver, thumb rubbing a stray drop of coffee off the mug, “You try to keep that stupid promise of working out?”

 

There was a grumble over the line.

 

“You fall asleep again?”

 

A grunt this time.

 

“Thought so,” Geoff chuckled. “Get up, Haywood. My boys are already at work and I'm sure yours is on the way.”

 

That made Ryan clear his throat and there was a rustling like he was sitting up.

 

The older Alpha's face split into a grin. “Good boy.”

 

A strangled moan came from the phone. “ _Don't treat me like one of your Omegas._ ”

 

“You like it, you kinky fuck,” Geoff snickered. “Do a couple sit ups and then get your ass to work.”

 

“ _You think about my ass often, Boss Man?_ ”

 

“More than you could imagine,” Geoff drawled. “Go.”

 

o0o

 

Ray bumped the door to the coffee shop open with his hip, a holder with two coffees in one hand while the other held his wallet. His teeth were clamped tight on the top of the brown paper bag that had two doughnuts and three different kinds of croissants inside it. They smelled amazing and he wasn't sure what type Ryan liked. He shoved his wallet in his pocket in exchange for his phone, flicking open a message from Tina and replying with one hand while he started toward the office.

 

The sun was cutting through the fog of the morning and everything smelled really _clean_ for once. Today was going to be good.

 

o0o

 

It wasn't even eight in the morning but the AH crew was there, gathering breakfast and coffee and everything they would need for the next couple hours while they started swimming in all the editing and tweaking that needed to be done before noon. Geoff found his Omegas already at their desks, headphones slipped over the heads and clamped over one ear so they could casually talk while they did it.

 

Geoff leaned over the back of Michael's chair and pressed a scratchy kiss to his Omega's neck, “Morning, baby boy. Missed you last night.”

 

Michael crinkled his nose at the scratchy sensation but he moved his head to the side and allowed a second kiss. “I still pay rent at my place so I'm going to stay there once in a while.”

 

Coffee warm fingers curled along the base of his throat. It was grounding and it made him smile but they quickly tightened and his heart seized. Michael arched, pushing up against the suddenly hot touch, his own hands scrambling noisily against the arms of his chair. Geoff smirked and bit harder at his boy's skin until he could taste the heat of his blush.

 

“It's just not the same waking up without your sweet little mouth around my cock.”

 

Gavin's faint whimper made the Alpha pull away from his shivering mate and walk over, giving his second Omega a little nuzzle to the top of his tame hair. “Did Michael drive you here?”

 

The Brit nodded, lashes falling to half mast while the older man's fingers started slowly snaking through his hair and down his shoulder. Michael was glaring at their Alpha with a fierceness he usually didn't show in the morning.

 

“You fucking cocktease,” Michael snapped. “You can't just do that and _stop_. Fucker.”

 

“I'm just saying good morning.” Geoff aimed for nonchalance as he leaned against the boy's chair and kept moving his hand, nails scraping over his t-shirt and all the way down to his belt. “Not my fault you're all cock hungry.”

 

“You're a pervert,” Michael shot back, though he lost some of his heat when he watched his Alpha slowly start to palm the Brit through his jeans. “A dirty old man. It's not even ten yet.”

 

“Time and age are irrelevant you little shit,” Geoff stated, smirking when his slow rubbing got Gavin to sigh and rock in his seat. “And you should leave that shitty apartment and come live with us. I've got so much room and I'm getting tired of this jackass whining about not having his _Micoo_ around all the time. Right, boy?”

 

Gavin nodded wordlessly, staring at the edge of his desk as he parted his legs a little to give the Alpha full access. Geoff rewarded him with a full grope, fingertips pressing down hard to give the boy something to move up into.

 

“My good boys, giving each other rides and stinking up my shower with all your frantic humping and sloppy kissing.”

 

Gavin knew it sounded like an insult but it made him throb, and Michael's whine said he was feeling something similar.

 

“We're going to have to take a night where I can show you two how to get an Omega off all _nice and proper_ ,” Geoff mocked Gavin's accent, soothing the sting with a sweet kiss on the top of his head again. “But we're going to lunch at one so make sure you get your shit done by then. Back to work, kids.”

 

“Yes, _Daddy_ ,” Michael purred, snickering when he go the Alpha to go a little red. “Yeah, it goes both ways, bitch.”

  
  
“I'll get to you later,” Geoff threatened, snagging back up his coffee.

 

o0o

 

Down the hall and in the annex, Ray grinned and handed a surprised Alpha a breakfast that he so desperately needed. Ryan fixed his glasses and smiled, _really_ smiled. He accepted the coffee and croissants (trying not to drool at the smell of the chocolate one) but they were put aside so he could cup Ray's jaw in both hands and draw him in for a kiss. It was slow and the Omega hummed into, standing up on his toes so the other didn't have to lean down.

 

“Knew you'd be hungry,” Ray sighed into the Alpha's mouth, getting another kiss that stole his breath. “And you said you had a lot to do today. _Ryan._ ”

 

Ryan nipped his name off the boy's lips as he massaged his thumb into the hidden gland beneath his ear. Ray relaxed and leaned against him, rubbing their cheeks to scent mark so he could last a few hours without his boyfriend in the same room.

 

Ryan swallowed the reflexive _I love you_ that sat on the tip of his tongue and rubbed back.

 

 

 


	63. Ryan, Ray, and Dan I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dan comes back around, and he's got his eye on a certain Omega...and Alpha.

**So - here's the thing to note in this chapter: Geoff, Michael, and Gavin have decided to make things official (I know, _mates,_ it feels good just to say it). There's going to be a chapter showing how that happens but it'll be after this one because I didn't know what I wanted to do for it (but someone gave me a great idea). I'm actually, TRULY, working on a list. Gonna try and do them twenty chapters at a time or so. So, more out of order stuff. Sorry about that.**

 

* * *

 

 

“Thanks for driving us, _Rye_ -bread,” Geoff drawled, hands shoved into his hoodie as he rocked back and forth on his heels. Michael rolled his eyes to hide his amusement at the drunk Alpha's dopey grin. Gavin was bouncing up and down beside him to try and see over the heads of everyone in the crowd.

 

“No problem,” Ryan replied, finally sliding his sunglasses off his face and up into his hair. “I don't want anyone driving drunk and you got _very_ enthusiastic during _Go!_.”

 

“That I did,” Geoff confirmed.

 

“I don't bloody see him,” Gavin grit out between bounces.

 

“Give it a minute, okay?” Michael grumbled, grabbing the back of the Omega's shirt to try and get him to calm down but it was to no avail. Gavin had been riled up since they'd gotten out of bed. Dan's last visit had been rocky and Michael knew he had a lot to make up for while the soldier was here. This leave was only for about a month and a half, something Dan had worked hard for. Gavin had planned all these great slow motion ideas and Dan was going to be in a _Let's Play_ and some _RT Life_ things – it was going to be great. The Brit hadn't shut up about it since he found out and his boyfriends were happy for him, they were, but they had sat him down to talk about what this meant. Geoff had explained he was okay with Gavin scenting with Dan and that if the two best friends wanted to share a bed, that was fine too (in the platonic sense).

 

“We're not going to separate you two,” Geoff had promised, rubbing Gavin's back as the Omega sprawled in his lap. “I know he means a lot to you.”

  
But Michael hadn't been so easy. He'd kept his irritation and rage in check and calmly explained that he wasn't cool with it but he'd allow it if Gavin promised not to kiss Dan (or do anything past scenting).

 

“You shared a heat with the guy. He's knotted you, Gav,” Michael had admitted, arms crossed over his chest. “You can't ask me to be okay with any more than that.”

 

And Gavin had gone along with it. He was their mate now, their courtship practically over, and this was their first real test. He was going to earn the new place he had in their little pack. He loved Dan to bits, he was his B, his boy, his first Alpha – but he loved his new relationship just as much. It would take them some time to work out their new dynamic but he just considered it part of the adventure.

 

“There he is,” Gavin gasped as he practically lit up, smile threatening to crack his face and hair practically standing on end. “At least, I _think_ it is? Dan! He’s behind the – What’s it called? – The – Oh sod it all – B! B!”

 

Geoff watched as the Omega shot off into the crowd. “And there he goes.”

 

“It’s like watching you run after Gavin all over again,” Michael grumbled, arms crossed defensively over his chest. His boyfriend threw an arm around his shoulders and pulled him in for a half hug, bumping his forehead against the boy’s shorn curls.

 

“Lighten up, baby boy. It’s just Dan.”

 

“Just Dan, he says,” the Omega was on the verge of growling. “He’s barely been our mate for more than a week and you want him rolling around with some sexy soldier Alpha in your house?”

 

“How about this,” Ryan proposed, having heard the argument the past thirty minutes in the car. “If it doesn’t work out, I’ll take Dan in.”

 

Michael’s eyes shot over to the Alpha as he recalled Dan asking for Ryan's Skype name. “ _You_ want a house guest?”

 

The older man shrugged. “I’ve become accustomed to some company. Ray and I practically live at each other’s houses. Dan would be more than welcome to couch surf.”

 

“You’d put him on the couch, dude?”

  
“It’s a nice couch.”

 

“We’ll hold you to that,” Geoff promised, the sea of people finally trickling away and clearing some of the floor. “Welp – there they are.”

 

There were a few shouts of _B_ and some shoving and then a camouflage figure cut away from customs and out onto the floor. It was Dan – the shock of dark hair on newly tanned skin, the thick brows, the fine cut of his figure under the bulky fatigues – it was unmistakable. Their lanky Omega friend shot out from nowhere and right up to him, mile-long legs eating up the distance until he could jump into Dan’s arms. The Alpha’s laugh rang loud and clear through lobby and his duffle was thrown aside so he could wrap Gavin up properly.

 

Ryan tossed his head toward the pair. “Let’s go welcome him home.”

 

Geoff nodded and started to move but Michael stayed firmly in place. “I’m fine right here.”

 

His boyfriend’s eyes narrowed. “Now is not the time for this, boy.”

 

“Don’t _boy_ me.”

 

“Omega,” Geoff growled, a rare sense of out-of-the-bedroom dominance creeping into his voice, “You are not going to ruin this for him. Dan did a bunch of favors to get his two leaves this close together. Who knows if he’ll get time off again before his tour is over? Get your shit together and get ready to build some bridges because that’s your _mate’s_ best friend and you two need to get along.”

 

The words stung Michael hard and he gave in almost immediately, shoulders slumping and hands dropping to his sides. Geoff softened up and brought the boy in for a brief kiss, grabbing his hand so their fingers could lace and tugging it. “Ready?”

 

Michael nodded with a small sigh. “Yeah, ready as ever.”

 

o0o

 

The two practically clung to each other, arms wrapped so tight around one another that it actually hurt a bit. Dan’s nose was skimming through the Omega’s fluffed up hair to take in all his new scent. Gavin’s own was nestled in the hollow of his friend’s throat, eyes closed tight as he tried to erase all the grief and worry away with the fact that his friend was back safe and sound. His thin fingers scratched at the fatigues and he whined when the thick material kept him from really feeling anything solid.

 

“I’m here, B,” Dan said, the statement both in amazement and reassurance as he curled an a protective arm around the back of the boy’s neck.

 

Gavin nodded frantically. “You are. ‘M so glad you’re alright.”

 

“You three really did it,” Dan muttered into his hair, nose picking up the other signatures clinging to the Omega.

 

“I know you were worried, B, but they’ve made it up to me,” Gavin promised. “Wait until you see how good we are together.”

 

“They smell…” the older Brit sniffed loudly, relieved grimace turning into a soft smile, “They smell like your mates. Your scent’s different. All happy and syrupy and warm – Christ, B, you smell like American summer.”

 

“Bit not good?” Gavin asked reluctantly, moving back and tilting his head up to stare worriedly into his best friend’s face.

 

Dan chuckled and cupped both his cheeks, rubbing their noses playfully. “It’s top. You smell real taken care of, B, and that’s all I want.”

 

“Dan,” Gavin sighed easily, a weight lifting from his chest. He thought he was going to get kissed for a moment but the others came up and the Alpha's attention was diverted. Geoff dragged the Alpha into a hug, exclaiming that it was good to have him back. Dan laughed cheerfully when the older Alpha scented his hair and squeezed him tight, words like _pack_ and _home_ coming to the forefront of his mind. He could smell the booze on Geoff's breath but it wasn’t repulsive, he wouldn’t mind a stiff drink at the moment.

 

“And look, we brought Michael!” Geoff grabbed his Omega and put him in front of the soldier, rubbing his cheek in the boy’s hair to help smooth the process. “Say hello Michael.”

 

The two squared off but it didn’t last long with Geoff’s hazy blue eyes darting between them, soothing and threatening all at once. Under the scrutiny they shook hands, the Omega even managing to huff out a low _hello_ that was responded to with a grunt. Gavin chewed his lip and chirped in the back of his throat, catching both their attentions.

 

Dan relented and pulled Michael into a brief hug, “No hard feelings about the bite, mate.”

 

The Omega nodded and stepped back when they were done, resuming his defensive posture.

 

“That went about as well as expected.”

 

Dan turned to face the older Alpha, feeling a little giddy just seeing him standing there in person after weeks of talking over Skype as often as possible. Dan wouldn’t ever admit it but he’d spoken to Ryan more online than he had his own parents, only second to Gavin.

 

“You look good, Dan.” Ryan grinned at him and Dan couldn’t stop from kind of throwing himself into the man’s outstretched arms, a happy rumble building in his chest when the man’s arms curled tight around him. This was far different from Geoff’s – Ryan’s breath and the brief scrub of their cheeks made Dan tingle. He slung an arm across the man’s back and laid his palm flat, absorbing the Alpha’s heat and breathing in the old-stone warmth of his scent. It was one thing to talk to him, to share stuff he usually would only tell Gavin, but it was quite another to see him in person – to touch him. The true weight of being home and not in some God forsaken country hit him like a punch to the chest. His ribs seemed to shrink, a stomach-churning tightness going all through his body.

 

Ryan felt the soldier tense up in his arms and made a primal, hushing sound that stuck deep in his chest and didn’t project like a growl would. He tucked Dan’s head into his throat and rubbed a hand over the boy’s back, keeping one arm coiled firmly across his waist like an anchor. He let the little Alpha shake in his embrace and take all the comfort he needed. He considered Dan was one of good friends, more so than he'd been last time they'd seen each other. He ignored their friends and concentrated on the boy, soaking up the stress pouring off him until his scent – usually salty and warm like a beach, sweetened around the edges with powder sugar – leveled back to normal and strong fingers uncurled from his shirt.

 

Ryan barely stopped himself from kissing Dan's cheek and running his fingers through his hair like he would Ray. He reigned in those base grooming instincts and forced himself to take a step back, patting the soldier's shoulder as the younger's eyes dried up. “Sorry about that.”

 

“No problem, Dan.”

 

Dan briefly chewed the side of his lip, pleased that Ryan had gotten over treating him like a child like the other Gents did. He didn't mind it so much when Geoff did it but being treated like Ryan's equal felt good – it felt right. But he could feel the others looking at him and he went back to Gavin's side, snagging the Omega by the back of the head and pulling him in.

 

The Alpha’s eyes started to close and he moved in, cocking his head, ready to dip in for a sweet Omega kiss. Gavin nearly gave in to it, lips parting in anticipation, but he put a hand on the soldier’s chest. Dan stopped obediently, always pathetically quick to obey his friend’s command when it came to making him happy. “We can’t.”

 

“What?” Dan shot back, accent thickening up.

 

“Uhm,” Gavin shot a quick look at Michael, “We had a long chat about it and Geoff wants to make sure all three – er, four – of us are comfortable. You’re important to me, B, but we’re not…” He bit his lip, hating the confused and hurt expression on his friend’s face. “We’re not together anymore. I have mates now. And Michael’s so sensitive and protective like a tiny little Alpha boy.”

 

The last was said as a joke but his laugh died down when his boy didn’t look too pleased with it.

 

“But-” Dan cut himself off, trying to bite his tongue and be reasonable, but he was still tired and sore from the flight. “You’ve been giving me a welcome home kiss since I enlisted – hell, before that, before we were together. No offense, Geoff, but before _you_ even.”

 

“It’s different now,” Michael snapped, getting a look from his Alpha. “What? It fucking is.”

 

“Don't be mad, B,” Gavin urged, rubbing the older Brit's arm only to get it yanked away. “Dan, come off it, now.”

 

“I'm not mad, I just – it's – ” Dan huffed through his nose and crossed his arms over his chest, trying to draw in on himself protectively. It was an old move and easy for the other Alphas to read. “It's bloody _upsetting_ , is all. Feels like your trying to change tradition.”

 

The tension in Michael's shoulders unwound, expression softening when he saw how truly _hurt_ Dan looked. The Brit was back after two months of a brief tour and he wouldn't be back for a long time after this. He just wanted his B, and Michael could understand that feeling. He started to mull over the idea of relaxing their rules a little but Ryan beat him to it.

 

“Here,” Ryan offered casually, sensing the tension between them. He moved smoothly, hooking his fingers in Dan's thick belt and dragging the soldier in those last few inches. Dan's eyes went wide in surprise, cheeks instantly flushing when the older Alpha's palm slid under his jaw and tilted his head just right to slant a kiss upon his slack mouth. It was a brief caress, one fluid motion that stole the protest right out of Dan's lungs and made his heart thud loudly against his rib cage.

 

“There we are,” Ryan breathed, blonde lashes low and mouth curved into a pleased smirk. “Now the tradition stands and there's no hurt feelings.”

  
“Uh,” Dan fumbled, arms hanging uselessly at his sides, blinking dumbly at the other Alpha, “Y-Yeah, I guess so. Cheers, mate.”

 

It took Gavin a moment but he managed to pick his jaw up off the floor, Michael and Geoff still staring a bit stunned at the action. “Well, that's one way to solve things.”

 

Ryan unhooked his keys from his belt and jingled him. “Let's pile everyone in the car. Dan looks beat and I think we're all hungry.”

 

Michael shook off the buzz of arousal and flashed a grin. “Burger time, boys?”

 

“God, that sounds good,” Geoff groaned, raking fingers through his hair. “But let's get take out so we don't overtax Danny-boy with the menus.”

 

Dan slapped a hand over his face and groaned. “God, B, you told that story again, didn't you?”

 

“On a podcast,” Gavin clarified, getting a heated glare from between the Alpha's fingers. “Everyone laughed.”

 

“I'm going to strangle you, B.”

o0o

 

Dan was shoved in the front seat while the three boyfriends took the back, pressed shoulder to shoulder and enjoying the ride. Gavin was quietly cooing into Michael's ear about how appreciated him trying and that this was going to be a lovely trip (he just knew it). The curly haired Omega resisted at first but he eventually melted, as he always did. They nuzzled noses and cheeks like the Lads they were called, their Alpha watching sleepily. Geoff's arm was slung along the back of the seat to surrounded them both, nothing but love in his eyes.

 

And they were also hoarding the bags of food they'd stopped and obtained.

 

Ryan drove as smoothly as possible but after a few minutes of silence he noticed that Dan had fallen asleep in the front seat. The older Alpha reached out and grabbed his shoulder, squeezing it until dark eyes fluttered open. “We'll be at the house in a few minutes and then you can really sleep. You'll get a crick in your neck like that.”

 

“Thanks, Ryan,” Dan muttered, sitting up a little straighter though his gaze was half lidded.

 

Ryan smiled softly at the soldier and a new slew of fuzzy, protective thoughts filled his head. He pictured himself stripping those heavy fatigues off the young Alpha and pushing him into a shower, getting some food in him, and putting him to bed for at least ten hours. The impulses were domestic, something he'd only experienced with Ray. Do his laundry, cook him food, make sure he had a nice clean nest to crawl into.

 

Ryan caught Gavin looking at him in the rearview mirror and those thoughts were impatiently batted away. He had his own potential mate, one he'd been thinking of asking to officially be his Omega. They'd been moving slow so far and he was feeling ready to take the next step, to be more intimate with his boy. Dark eyes and hair, soft skin, stunning smiles.

 

He looked over at Dan again and the soldier shot him a half-smile. “I'm awake, mate.”

 

_I think I have a type._

 

o0o

 

When they got back to the Ramsay compound they sat around and stuffed their faces while Dan told stories about the people he'd seen on his three flights to the States. The people he'd run into, the pilot he was sure had been drunk, the stewardess who had spilled his water on him trying to show off the line of her cleavage. They laughed and joined in, revealing their own flying tales and how terrible it always seemed.

 

“Jet lag, small bottles of liquor, bunch of people – who needs it?” the oldest Alpha griped, already popping off his fourth beer of the day. Dan broke off to get something to drink out of the fridge, smiling to himself as Gavin scooted over to Geoff and gently lowered the beer, suggesting rather convincingly that he had (maybe) had enough for today. The Alpha relented and handed it over to Michael, who sat the bottle aside.

 

 _Maybe they really are good for each other_ , Dan mused as he ducked down to rifle through the fridge for some juice or water. He needed a nap but he was damn thirsty. He stood up and nearly smashed faces with Ryan, who had snuck around him and was standing behind the door.

 

“I’m heading out,” the older Alpha stated, closing the fridge once the other was out of the way. “I just wanted you to know that if you get…overwhelmed or uncomfortable while you’re here, you’re more than welcome to stay with me.”

 

“I am?” Dan questioned, feeling light chested and apprehensive all at once. “I appreciate it, I really do, but why would I have to leave?”

 

“I’m not saying that Geoff will kick you out or anything,” Ryan assured him calmly, instantly soothing over the soldier’s bristle of fear. “But I understand their relationship is still new and this whole situation could be precarious with yours and Gavin’s past together.”

 

“Gav and I aren’t like that anymore,” Dan said almost too quickly. “We came to that last time I was here. It’s just brother-love there now, mate. You know that, right?”

 

“Who people sleep with is none of my business. The past is the past,” the Gent waved it off. “I just want to see everyone happy, and if you decide sleeping somewhere else does that then my door is open. And my couch.”

 

“That couch _is_ top,” Dan joked.

 

“It is, isn’t it?”

 

There was a bout of laughter from the living room and Dan looked over to see Geoff nibbling hard on Gavin’s neck, the Omega squirming and making a whole variety of bird sounds trying to get away. “Michael! Michael, help me!”

 

“No way, boy, you’re on your own.”

 

Dan turned his attention back to the Alpha, who had a sympathetic look, “I’ll hold you to that.”

 

“Any time. Just message me.”

 

That reminder made Dan chew the inside of lip a bit. The sensation reminded him of the Alpha’s kiss and he felt his ears burn up in what he hoped was a way that was unnoticeable. “And thanks for being cool with chatting so much. I wasn’t pestering you, was I? I don’t get a lot of vid time on the base but I can pick up the messenger in my bunk.”

 

“Not at all.” Ryan’s teeth raked over his own lip. “I was surprised at first but it’s been…it’s been good. I feel like I know you a lot better now. No offense, but you’re a lot more intelligent than YouTube and Gavin portray you to be.”

 

Surprisingly, the Brit just smiled. “I get that a lot. No offense taken, mate.”

 

“I’ll leave you with the real idiots, then.”

 

Dan nodded and held out his hand, ready to shake goodbye, but faltered when the other Alpha just stared at his palm. Instead Ryan brought up his own hand and cupped the side of the soldier’s head, the movement slow so he could step out of it if he wanted to.

 

“Do you mind if I…?”

 

The question hung between them for a few heartbeats before Dan realized he was asking to scent. His head bobbed comically in agreement and it made Ryan laugh, a soft rumble of a sound. Dan closed his eyes and allowed the other to lightly nuzzle his hair, both silently breathing one another in, enforcing their friendship that had virtually developed over the past two months. The contact was at light and brief as the kiss had been and when he stepped away Dan found himself wanting more. It was a strange new urge that he’d never had with another Alpha. Usually he liked to keep those of his status at arm’s length, to keep his eyes on pretty Omegas and outdo his competition. But the way Ryan was looking at him right now, like he had earlier after their kiss…it was sending a tingle through his fingers and forcing his heart to up its pace. He pictured himself grabbing the older man by the collar and dragging him in to scent his throat, to lick at the pale skin until it was covered in his marks, to bite at his scent gland until he could practically _taste_ all that promise of buttery warmth.

 

Instead Dan told him goodbye and that he’d see him later, getting the same in return.

 

_What the hell’s going on with me?_

 

o0o

 

Later on, Dan was woken up with Gavin wondering the same thing. He’d been fast asleep in his friend’s bed but the bounce of the Omega flopping down startled him awake. The others had explained that they all three shared the main bedroom now, but while Dan was staying Gavin would be using his old bedroom again. It was mostly storage for all their stuff now. The bed had been stripped so Geoff had given them stuff to use, pillows sprayed with pleasant scent neutralizer to keep everything from smelling of the Alpha. He glared at Gavin before fluffing up his pillow and burrowing his head back down into it.

 

“Dan?”

 

“Yeah?” he croaked.

  
“So you and Rye-bread…”

  
Dan cleared his throat. “Stupid nickname if you ask me.”

 

“You guys been chatting a lot while you’ve been gone?”

 

“Yeah,” Dan admitted, “You said you don’t like to spend a lot of time typing out stuff and you’d rather do video. Ryan didn’t mind messaging.”

 

The Omega hummed, the warmth of him seeping through the blankets. It was nice and it was starting to lull Dan back to sleep.

 

“Here’s the thing, B.”

 

“Here we go,” Dan groaned, pulling the covers up over his head. “It can’t wait ‘til morning, Gav?”

 

“Ryan’s not very affectionate,” Gavin plowed on like hadn’t heard him. “He’s a great guy and a really good Alpha – always ready to calm an Omega down and he’s polite and nice about it, never try to grab at you or anything. Still go to him when Geoff and I are having it out.”

 

There was a small spark of jealousy in Dan’s chest and it worried him that he didn’t know what he was envious of – Ryan comforting Gavin, or Gavin getting to scent with the Alpha on the regular. Either way he held strong to the covers as the other tried to pull them down.

 

“But he kissed you earlier.”

 

“He was trying to stop us all from having a punch-up right there in the airport,” Dan pointed out stubbornly. “

 

“Yeah, B, but he _kissed_ you.”

 

Dan gave in and sat up, tossing the blanket aside and narrowing his eyes at the flustered Omega. “You upset or something?”

 

“A little,” Gavin confessed. “Not every day you see two Alphas do that. Especially not on my best mate.”

 

Dan felt a little pinch in his gut at that. “Stop trying to look so much into it. I’m not, so you shouldn’t.”

 

“Well maybe you bloody _should_ ,” Gavin bit back sharply. “You two got along well enough before but he scented you, and you hugged him like that…like you should’ve hugged me.”

 

Dan’s shoulders slumped in defeat and he grabbed the Omega by the shoulder, tugging him into an embrace. He laid them on their sides on the bed, facing each other, noses bumping. “I did hug you like that, Gav. I missed you more than anyone. He was just being nice.”

 

Gavin frowned. “You’re not listening, are you?”

 

Though he was sleepy, Dan rolled his eyes. “Of course I am.”

 

  
“Ryan doesn’t even casually scent like that with _Geoff_ , and Geoff’s our bloody boss.”

 

“Don’t tell me you want to call him your ‘Pack Alpha’?” Dan needled, getting the boy to blush. “You didn't use to buy into the whole dynamics thing.”

 

“It's different with Geoff, he _feels_ different,” Gavin tried to explain, the feelings his boyfriend gave him complicated and deep-rooted. “He takes care of me and protects me...it's different than when we were together. You should see how he is with everyone. Hell, Dan, you've felt it. He wants you to be part of it.”

 

Dan could easily remember all the times Geoff ruffled his hair or scented him, thrown an arm around his shoulder, invited him along even if he felt like he didn't fit in. The older Alpha made him feel apart of things, like one of the guys.

 

“I could see that,” Dan sighed, scratching through the Omega's hair. “I think you were right. I think I have a crush on Ryan.”

 

Gavin's mouth dropped open but the Alpha quickly slid a thumb over his lips, cutting off anything he was going to say. “I know, B. I'm a dumb, yeah? I felt something earlier and I...I know it's not going to come to anything. Just carrying a bit of a torch for him, I guess.” He dropped his eyes to the bed, unable to take the other Brit's wide-eyed look of surprise. “I don't really want to talk about it, and I'd appreciate you not taking the piss out of me for it.”

 

“Bloody hell, Dan,” Gavin muttered, thinking of how happy Ryan and Ray were together. He grabbed his friend by the back of his head and brought him down to his chest, his chin and mouth grazing dark hair. Dan sighed and snuggled into him, pressing down the affection he harbored for another Alpha and let himself drown in the Omega's familiar scent.

  
Gavin smiled gently down at him and pet along his shoulders, bringing the blanket up to cover them both. “Poor B – can't catch a break, can you?”

 

But Dan was already fast asleep again.

 

o0o

 

The next day at work the whole office was abuzz with the soldier's return. Lindsay showed up with a whole flat of cupcakes for him and Dan gratefully accepted them, stuffing three in his mouth before the Omega girl could even walk away. Ryan watched him with amusement, laughing when Dan just shot him a grin with icing all over his teeth.

 

“That's revolting,” Ryan teased, handing the younger Alpha a napkin.

 

“You're too kind.”

 

They were down one Achievement Hunter until around noon when Ray hitched a ride with Josh to the office. He'd known about Dan since he'd arrived thanks to Gavin but he'd yet to see him and the Omega burst into the office practically radiating energy. The door was thrown open so hard it smacked off the wall, Ray's beaming smile and big eyes filling the doorway. “Dan the Man!”

 

Dan jumped out of Gavin's seat, the other Brit perched on Geoff's desk and fiddling with the HALO action figures on it. The two dark haired boys stared at one another, grinning and excited, before they ran at each other and clashed in a burst of laughter. Ray jumped up into the soldier's arms, wrapping his arms tight around his neck with his legs desperately kicking up in an attempt to climb. Dan easily hooked his arms under the Omega's knees and hooked them around his waist. They hugged and squeezed, gushing about how much they missed each other.

 

“You got bigger, asshole!” Ray declared, picking his head up and grinning at the Alpha. “Your shoulders are huge, man. And you got more tan.”

 

“And you got all plump and squishy, _Omega_ ,” Dan snickered, hands squeezing the thighs he held to get the boy to yelp. “It's a good look on you. Did you get my gift?”

 

“ _Gifts_ , which you didn't have to give me.” Ray nudged their noses with a wide grin, recalling the new COD for his DS and the fully knitted afghan that he curled up with on the couch when he played games. “The blanket is hella' awesome. Ten out of ten, will use every day.”

 

“There was a woman who I brought fruit from every day on base, and I told her you presented. She said she made one like that for her son when he became an Omega.” There was color on the Brit's cheeks. “I'm glad you liked it.”

 

“I fucking love it,” Ray promised. They stared at one another, smiles softening into something more affectionate, the room fading out as they started to really breath in each other. It was a deep-seeded instinct to start scenting though the last time they'd seen each other Ray had been unpresented.

 

“Can I...?” Dan started to ask before the boy buried his face in his neck and huffed deeply. He laughed at the ticklish sensation and held the Omega tighter before returning the gesture. Twin moans slipped past their lips as they got the first real taste of one another.

 

Ray's was instantly drunk, clinging to the Alpha and holding tight so he couldn't be pried away. The other smelled like a beach at night, bonfires and salty sweetness, the tinge of smoldering wood reminding him greatly of Ryan and that only scent him further into his head. It sunk into his skin and clothes like smoke.

 

Dan's canines itched to sink into the Omega's neck when he got his first lungful of pure, sinful vanilla. Like caramel slicking across his tongue, sugar sweet and _deep_ and cloying. It filled his chest and stomach, sliding past his teeth, reminding him of the sensation of biting into silk sheets. He loved it instantly and it made his entire body go warm. And there was something underneath it, a second tone that almost tasted _baked_. It brought up memories of french toast and cinnamon rolls and doughnuts and a bunch of other American sweets.

 

It was strange that he had two layers of scent but if anyone could it was Ray – the eccentric kid who matched him in energy and somehow managed to be one of the most laid back people he knew. They enjoyed hanging out alone, being in the quiet with just video games in the background, and when the mood struck they were ready to pull pranks or play around in the office.

 

“I missed you,” Ray confessed as he was finally let down, pupils wide and knees kind of shaky. “You came when I was gone last time, dickhead. We didn't get to hang out once.”

 

“This time will be different. I'm back for a bit longer, yeah?” Dan grabbed his hand and squeezed, smiling reassuringly, wanting to appease the slightly giddy Omega. “Gav and I's stuff can wait a tic. We can do stuff, just the two of us.”

 

“Really?” Ray asked hopefully, looking over to the other Brit. Everyone seemed to be staring at them, curious and surprised, but he ignored them. “You wouldn't mind, would you Vav?”

 

“No,” Gavin replied automatically, shaking off the slightly stunned feeling and nodded too quickly. “Sure, yeah. Take a couple days, get the ideas in order, work out a filming schedule.”

 

“Ace,” Dan exclaimed, throwing an arm around the Omegas's shoulders. “This is going to be fun as all hell.”

 

“Fuck yeah it is,” Ray snickered, leaning into the touch. “You hungry, man? Food time?”

 

“Ah, yeah, food time. B, you hungry?”

 

Gavin just shook his head and with a another burst of laughter the two dark haired men lumbered out of the office. The Brit looked at Michael with a wide, slowly-blinking stare. “Michael? Did that just happen?”

 

“Yes it did,” Geoff answered for the stunned ginger. “Holy shit. Ryan is going to piss himself in anger.”

 

Jack wore a worried frown. “Gavin? You told Dan that Ray and Ryan were together? Or that maybe Ryan mentioned it?”

 

“Ryan doesn't like to talk about his love life,” Michael mentioned idly, still kind of starstruck after watching the potential train wreck. He was playing the airport scene of Ryan kissing Dan over and over in his mind, trying to figure out how badly this could all go.

 

“Then _we_ should tell him,” Jack insisted.

 

“We should stay out of it,” Geoff offered, gesturing vaguely.

 

“Did we all just watch the same thing?” the bearded man demanded. “That's Ryan's boyfriend – the two of them have been thinking about making it official for a while now. They're serious. Dan has no idea what he's jumping into and it's just not fair to him. Ryan is-”

 

Jack cut himself off, unsure how to put it without offending his friend.

 

“He's wild,” Geoff finished. “And Dan's just going to have to learn the hard way. He's a good kid, Ryan will go easy on him.”

 

“Do you lot really think they, uh, fancied each other right then?” Gavin prodded, a bitter mix of emotions bubbling just below his heart. He got a strange look from both his boyfriends. “I mean – they were close before, weren't they?”

 

“Gav,” Michael started but couldn't figure out the rest of it.

 

“They wouldn't,” Gavin marveled softly, brain aborting every sentence halfway through. “I...I mean, they don't. And Dan with Ryan...they just...they're my mates. And Dan and I...and with Ray just now...they _wouldn't_ , right?”

 

Geoff sighed and pulled his boy down into his lap, petting along the back of his neck and down the length of his back. “You know Ryan and Ray are really into each other. And Dan's just happy to be back and around his friends. And?”

 

It was a prompt that Gavin refused to bite to at first, but then his mate gave him a pinch on the thigh. “And it's none of my bloody business.”

 

“There we go,” Geoff cooed softly in appraisal, giving the Omega a soft nip to the shoulder. “Now let's get this _Things To Do_ up and running.”

 

* * *

 

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	64. Ryan, Ray, and Dan II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dan wiggles his way into everyone's life again and Ray takes up a sexy bet that causes as many problems as it fixes.
> 
> -
> 
> “God, Ryan, this really got to you. Dan was just trying to be a good friend. You know you’re the only guy for me.”

**Thank you EVERYONE for leaving lovely feedback on all my stories. You make me tear up and I am completely in love with all of you. I know I don't get back to all of you because it's I just don't know what to say! You're all lovely.**   
  
**For being lovely and supportive, I'm going to ask you to hold onto that love. I pushed some limits with this chapter and I hope I don't lose you guys. So, get ready for some platonic loving stuff and stockings**

* * *

 

 

Ryan lost his boyfriend in a matter of hours of Dan arriving and then for nearly a full week. The boys threw themselves into a new, intense friendship and they bonded so quickly that even Gavin was baffled by it. Ray brought out Dan's youth, it seemed, and soon the two were belting out obnoxious phrases and pulling out chairs from under people before anyone knew it. They saran-wrapped Joel's entire office and cackled victoriously on the second floor while the Alpha ran out and yelled out about it, the pair chest-bumping with a loud _woot!_ before taking off in opposite directions so as not to get caught.

 

And then the videos started. Dan and Ray stole a camera from the AV room and filmed themselves playing video games. After a few test rounds Dan started to really get into it and his muscle memory kicked in so he was able to keep up. The videos were pretty funny, even Ryan could admit, and Burnie agreed to have them released on the main website under the sponsorship. Ryan watched every single one of them, staring with narrowed eyes at the couch he'd often cuddled with Ray on where they sat, feeling betrayed as the two cracked terrible jokes and spent hours together between the vids and Twitch.

 

Ryan flinched every time they bumped heads or jumped on each other. He'd nearly knocked over his laptop when Dan smacked a kiss on Ray's cheek in the middle of a terrible joke.

 

They were so damn _touchy_ and it got under Ryan's skin. The Alpha wanted to feel truly jealous and angry but he found he couldn't. He couldn't be mad at Ray for gaining another close friend and he certainly couldn't begrudge Dan having fun while on leave. They were too happy together for him to interfere. And, if he were to be completely honest with himself, they looked beautiful with their foreheads pressed together and their dark hair kissing, smiles so bright and jovial that it made his heart ache in the best way.

 

Ryan pushed it down to an unhealthy level and tried to put on a smile but it got harder each day when he went into the office to grab Ray for lunch and one of the guys would tell him he'd already left with Dan.

 

It was Friday of the first week when he snapped and his facade crumbled a bit. Ryan checked in the office after he'd finished up his editing but Ray was gone. He wasn't surprised and didn't think too much of it since he'd had to stay so late. So he called his boyfriend, shrugging on his jacket and silently nodding to wish Lindsay good night.

 

But when he'd finally gotten a hold of Ray the Lad had made a lot of vague noises before he finally just admitted he had Dan over and they were going to do a live feed together.

 

“Jesus,” Ryan spat over the line with more venom than he thought he could aim at the sweet Omega. “Never mind. Have fun.”

 

He'd barely hung up before he shoved his phone deep into his pocket, teeth grit so tight his jaw ached. A coffee scent hit his nose before a soft hand rested on his shoulder and squeezed. Lindsay was beside him and smiling softly, knowingly, and he felt some tension leave just at her kind expression.

 

“Do you want to go get dinner?” she offered sweetly

 

“God yes,” Ryan huffed, taking off his glasses to rub his tired yes. “I'm starving.”

 

o0o0o0o

 

“They're really great for you.”

 

Gavin grinned before dipping under the surface of the pool, emerging after a few refreshing seconds and scraping back his soaked hair. “They're top, yeah? Love those two. Best thing to ever happen to me in America, I think, besides this job.”

 

“I was iffy at first about them,” Dan admitted. He tread water as he thought of all the times in the past few days he'd seen Geoff or Michael fuss and love on his best mate. Geoff would make sure he ate and Michael would secretly hold his hand when he thought no one was looking...it was unbearably sweet in that sugary-gag way. The Omegas seemed to always be climbing all over their Alpha, not really competing more than they were ganging up on him. It all seemed healthy and safe so Dan let go of any lingering jealousy and anger and embraced his friend's new relationship. “You've got two and a half Alphas looking out for you now.”

 

“My lovely little Alpha boy,” Gavin snickered, thinking of the way Michael could get all huffy when he was offended and puff up like an angry cat. “And Ryan, too. He's not as experienced as Geoff but he's really good at making an Omega feel safe, you know? That one's got a magic touch.”

 

Dan hummed in agreement, remembering the way the Alpha's hug had felt like a grounding touch. “You're lucky you have two mates. I wish I could find _one_ person like that.”

 

Gavin swam over to the side to grab his beer, grabbing a cool swig before turning back toward the Alpha. “So, you're looking?”

 

“Only in the way all single blokes are.” Dan shrugged it off, swimming over to his own beer to distract himself from thinking too deeply of the two people he'd been thinking a lot of lately. “In a month I'll be shipped out.”

 

Gavin chirped in the back of his throat as he saw his friend's sad expression. “Dan?”

 

“Isn't the ideal time to start looking for a potential mate, yeah?” Dan laughed it off before taking another long drink. He didn't want to get drunk but he felt like it would help. _This is no time to crawl into the bottle._

 

“You sure have been spending a lot of time with Ray,” Gavin pointed out, wondering for the hundredth time if he should tell Dan that the R&R Connection as more than just a team name. “And you were all chummy with Ryan...”

 

“I told you, I...” Dan started to remember the way the Alpha had been avoiding him since that cupcake incident. “I look up to him a bit, B, that's all. He's a good guy.”

 

“The best,” Gavin replied almost idly, trying to get more out of him.

 

Dan flicked at the label of the bottle with his thumbnail, nose full of chlorine. “We talked about a lot fo stuff while I've been gone. I've never had someone who I could talk about dynamics so easily with. He's my friend. He makes me laugh. But that's it.”

 

He rushed the last words out, afraid that if he explained anymore he would reveal too much.

 

Whatever feelings he was nurturing for Ryan (or Ray) belonged buried deep down and ignored.

 

o0o0o0o

 

Ryan thought a new week would bring some ease to his nerves. After a weekend alone he made a vow with himself that he would make a better effort to accept his boyfriend's new enthusiastic relationship, and to spend some time with Dan while he was here. He cared about them both, he did, and he wasn't sure his “tired” and “busy” excuses were going to last much longer. He'd ignored a call from Dan already and had managed to keep Ray at bay with texts.

 

But his famous control was put to the test when Dan started showing up to work. Geoff would arrive with him in the backseat along with Gavin and he would hang around the office. He quickly seem to develop a preference for their office and helping them film Behind the Scenes stuff. Years of working with Gavin had given him some natural talent with filming and after some direction from Kdin and Lindsay he was in the groove of things.

 

All in all, Dan was basically glued to Ray's hip, and Ray seemed to love it so Ryan kept his mouth firmly shut. The rest of the crew were thrilled to have some new blood, even Michael, so he was out of allies when it came to holding a grudge against the young Alpha. Ryan attempted to suck it up and put on a smile again, go with the tried and true 'ignore it' method.

 

Except Dan often sat on Ryan's couch when the older Alpha wasn't around, getting his beach boardwalk scent all over the damn material. Ryan bought new scent neutralizer but couldn't bring himself to use it. As annoyed as he was with Ray spending all his time with Dan, he liked the Alpha boy's scent billowing up around him as he did _Let's Plays_.

 

He was only caught once, sitting still with his eyes closed and taking deep breaths, and he'd easily brushed off Geoff's curious question and got back to setting up his little desk.

 

o0o

 

“Catch it, already.”

 

“Fuck you, it's hard.”

 

“Just open your dumb mouth.”

 

“It's open!”

 

Dan grinned and fished another Gold Fish out of the package. “Tilt your head back and think of England, mate.”

 

“Shouldn’t I be saying that to you?” Ray snickered, the sound cutting off when the snack smacked him right between the eyes. “Hey!”

 

“Pay attention.”

 

The rest of the crew, minus Ryan, rolled their eyes or snickered and watched as Dan tossed the crackers towards the Lad with the intent of landing them straight on his tongue. Ray bounced around in his chair, half-lounging in an effort to catch them, and the Alpha was just sprawled lazily on the couch tossing them out.

 

The door opened and Ryan walked in, already asking Geoff a question about the newest server upgrade, but the moment he saw Dan and Ray screwing around he rolled his eyes and left. The two didn't even pause, just grinned wider at the thought that they'd annoyed the Gent.

 

“Classic vinegar-filled Ryan,” Michael snorted.

 

Jack gave both Geoff and Gavin a firm look before turning back to his monitor. They both knew what their Beta was thinking - that they should tell Dan the secret they'd all been kind of hiding so as not to embarrass the Alpha pup or ruin his fun, but they couldn't bring themselves to do it.

o0o

 

Gavin had always got a bit dominate with Dan, their friendship so old and deep that he felt completely comfortable bossing the Alpha around without consequence. Whenever his B got on his nerves he let him know. And after twenty minutes of random jabs to the ribs he'd reached his limit. Gavin grabbed a water bottle, twisted off the lid, and promptly dumped it onto Dan's head. The Alpha gaped in shock, eye shut tight and shoulders hunching up.

 

“Don't be a little bitch, B,” Gavin stated before tossing the empty bottle into the bin. Dan stood up and resisted the urge to shake himself, knowing that if he got the multitude of equipment in the AH wet he'd have an angry Geoff on his hands. Instead he slowly opened his eyes to the chorus of laughter and stopped feeling embarrassed the moment he saw Ray staring a little lower than decent. His grey shirt was soaked, sticking to his chest and abs, and the Omega seemed to have taken an interest.

 

Feigning nonchalance, Dan shed his shirt and tossed it into the corner of the room. “Jack, mate, can you throw me some merch?”

 

Jack rolled his eyes and tossed him an Awesome Button shirt from one of his drawers.

 

Dan draped it over his shoulder and shot a wink at Ray, nodding, “Enjoying the view?”

 

“Not sure about that,” Ray shot back. “But I know you sure are enjoying not having a shirt on, you voyeuristic prick.”

 

They snickered together before Dan turned around to put the shirt on, then he spotted Ryan on his couch. He couldn't help but flex, tucking his arms behind his back a bit and showing off the thick curves of his shoulders. He looked at the Alpha from beneath his lashes, taking a risk, and then flinched when it backfired. Ryan's nostrils flared and his jaw went tight before he pushed his desk away and walked out of the office.

 

Dan whined so softly that no one really picked it up, the sound gone too fast for them to pick up where it came from. The young Alpha wondered what he'd done wrong and he quickly pulled on his shirt, overcome with a bout of shame for showing off like that.

 

Geoff and Gavin both saw the hurt on Dan's face before he managed to hide it under a dumb smile.

 

o0o

 

Ray came back from lunch to find his seat taken by a happy Alpha playing one of the many games they had on tap. The others (minus his boyfriend, who hadn't been feeling very social lately) filed in behind him and jostled him around to get past. He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the older man.

 

“What the fuck, asshole?”

 

Dan shrugged and didn't even spare him a look, tongue caught between his teeth as he tried to concentrate.

 

“Well, I don't have a place to sit now,” Ray declared, only minorly annoyed.

 

Dan paused the game and swiveled toward him, a cocky grin curling his lips as he patted his thigh. “I've got a spot right here.”

 

It was a half joke but Ray didn't hesitate to walk over and plop himself in the Alpha's lap, stealing the controller and forcing them to turn back toward the monitor. “What are we playing?”

 

Geoff watched the two and sipped at his coffee, dumping a spike of whiskey into it to keep himself calm. Ryan was a big boy and was allowed to handle his relationship however he wanted, and if he wanted to let Ray fool around that was his choice. He couldn't really blame Ryan, he wouldn't want to ruin Dan's pretty smile and the way the two dark haired boys kind of nuzzled into each other and butted up like cats, casually scenting and looking so happy together.

 

How could anyone deny them that?

 

_Dan will find out eventually. Best to let the kid have some fun._

 

o0o

 

When Dan would buy food he somehow started to end up with two, like _Dr. Horrible_ but with everything from Coke to frozen treats to chips. He claimed they were accidents but Ray wasn't an idiot and he caught on fast.

 

“Why, Mr. Gruchy...”

 

Dan went wide eyed as the Lad put a hand on the couch he was sitting on and leaned over him, getting in his space and smiling way too innocently.

 

“...are you trying to provide for me? Like an Alpha?”

 

The statement made Dan flush and stutter out a denial, claiming he just wanted to share. Ray laughed in his face and flicked him on the nose, making the Alpha jump.

 

“You are way too easy to fuck with, asshole.”

 

o0o0o0o

 

Ray wasn't sure how he ended up having lunch with Barbara and Lindsay but he found himself hanging out with the two more and more now that he had finally presented. Barb was playfully flirty and had enough energy to keep conversations going and he'd naturally grown closer to Lindsay, bonding as Omegas. That and she was becoming a solid Achievement Hunter and she had a humor that made him laugh until he wanted to hurl. They were a comforting presence, a fresh breath of estrogen from the boy-pit of an office. 

 

And they kept him on his toes.

 

"You men have no idea the pressure we're under," Barbara whined, the three of them huddled together in a corner booth at the diner down the street from the office. "We have to shave everything and wear all this ridiculous underwear that rides up our asses. If I didn't love having tits so much, I'd switch in a second."

 

She snapped to emphasize her point.

 

"I love tits," Lindsay mused around the straw of her drink. "My tits, your tits-"

 

  
"-red tits, blue tits," Ray finished with a laugh. "I don't know. It doesn't seem awful."

 

"You're a guy who only fucks guys, what do you know?" Barbara shot back.

 

"Hey, I love the ladies," Ray defended. "Girls are hot, and if they don't want to shave whatever I don't care. And underwear isn't super important to me."

 

"Virgin," Lindsay jabbed, getting him to bristle.

 

"If Ryan wasn't so damn all-consuming..." the Omega boy muttered.

 

"Yeah, yeah, you'd bang all the hot chicks if you weren't completely in love with Ryan and want to have ten thousand of his babies and buy a house together with a picket fence that Ryan would fix all shirtless and sweaty...maybe clean the gutters and mow the lawn, all glistening and muscly and I forgot what where I was going with this," Lindsay trailed off, shaking her head. "The point is - we do complicated things for zero reward and it's a huge pain in the ass. Most men would run away screaming if they had to do it."

 

"Bullshit," Ray called.

 

Barb and Lindsay shared a smirk before two sets of sharp, clear eyes settled on the young Omega.

 

"Uh, guys?"

 

"That sounds like a challenge."

 

Ray swallowed thickly but didn't back down. "Is that a bet I hear coming?"

 

"Hell yeah, sunshine," Barb's canines looked particularly sharp in the diner lighting. "I bet you twenty bucks, right now, that you won't wear thigh highs in public."

 

"Deal," he agreed, "Hand them over and I'll do it right now."

 

"No Barb," Lindsay put a hand over the blonde's arm, enunciating sharply. "Think. Big."

 

Barbara's brows drew together.

 

Lindsay grinned wolfishly. "We bet you twenty bucks each that you won't wear short shorts to work _._ "

 

"Deal," he repeated with a shrug.

 

"And twenty more if you wear  _stockings_ ," she added quickly.

 

Ray's lips pursed for a few moments before he nodded.

 

"And we'll make it a nice round sixty each if you agree to shave your legs too," Lindsay finished, eyes gleaming. "A whole day at the office. No complaints."

 

Ray frowned down at his empty plate and thought it over. A full day? The guys wouldn't let it go and he'd get teased for months. Ryan had been a little distant lately, maybe some spice would reel him back from his slump. Not to mention Dan...

 

 _Stop that, stop that right now._  

 

"Bring it on," he finally said.

 

"This is going to be so much fun!" Barbara burst. "I have some pretty stockings left from my last boyfriend and he was about your size."

 

"I've got the shorts," Lindsay stated, eyeing the Omega boy's hips. "Hm, yeah, for sure. And I just bought a new can of Veet."

 

"Alright, ladies, dress me up!" Ray declared, his arms crossed behind his head. “Just tell me when and where.”

 

“My house tomorrow morning before work,” Barb stated, mind already a-whir with the thought of prep. “I've got great lotion that'll get rid of any irritation and I think, Linds, you still have a bathing suit there?”

 

“Yeah, pretty sure.”

 

Ray made small, nervous noise. “Bathing suit?”

 

“You'll see when you get there,” the female Alpha assured him quickly. “Tomorrow, all day. No backing out.”

 

“Hell no,” Ray scoffed. “Easiest hundred and twenty bucks I've ever made. I'm going to upgrade from Taco Bell to Chipotle and eat like a fucking king for the rest of the month.”

 

Though his words were confidant he couldn't help but feel a little unsure, the glint in their eyes making him both fearful and excited. _What do these girls have in store for me?_

 

o0o

 

Ray arrived via Lindsay's car, as requested, at Barbara's doorstep a little after five AM. He was dead on his feet, swaying under the weight of his bag, but willing for whatever the two girls had planned. They ushered him into the bathroom and made him sit down on top of the toilet seat before they disappeared. They came back a little while later in fluffy white robes but the Omega boy as slumped over himself and snoring.

 

“Come on, sunshine!” Barbara called cheerfully, squeezing the back of Ray's neck with one hand while the other lightly patted his cheek. “We've got to burn all that hair off and then slip you into something sexy. You ready?”

 

“Mm-hm,” Ray confirmed, eyes still closed. He grunted when they got him to his feet and started tugging off his clothes. When they started thumbing at his underwear his eyes snapped open and he tried to jump away. “Hey! Watch the merchandise!”

 

“Ray,” Lindsay began in an all-too-serious tone, “We can't trust you to do this alone and we have to get that cream _really_ far up. Just have a little faith, we're practically professionals.”

 

“But-”

 

“How about this?” Barbara stripped off her robe, revealing the dark bikini she'd put on so she could get wet without ruining her clothes. “I get in the tub, we both close our eyes, you get in and cover your junk. Then we'll get started.”

 

Ray felt like his face was on fire. “Wait, you're going to be in there too?”

 

“Duh,” she replied easily, getting into the overly large tub and sitting down against the back of the chilly porcelain, “I can't trust you to stay still and this stuff wipes off really easily. I seriously don't want to put a razor to your skin, you'll have razor burn for weeks. It's a lot easier for you to just sit here.” She patted her lap. “And Linds will get that stuff all up over you, right chick?”

 

“Fuck yeah, I got this,” Lindsay promised, wiggling out of her own robe really casually. Ray started to blab nervously about how they shouldn't do this, that it wasn't a good idea, and his eyes kept dancing between the two girls in an effort not to goggle at how good they looked – Lindsay in a fiery red suit, Barb in navy blue.

 

“M-Maybe-”

 

“Shut up, Ray, we're all getting wet, it's freezing so we're doing this all together, and you're getting shaved and maybe I'll touch up my legs 'cause I think I'm a little fuzzy for the skirt I want to wear,” Lindsay mused out loud while she tied up her hair in a high bun, her blonde friend doing the same. “So strip and get in the tub. Take this.”

 

Ray was handed a soft, small towel.

 

“Lay it across your bits and retain your virgin honor or whatever,” Lindsay stated, flashing him a wink. “And don't look so nervous. I left my strap-ons at home.”

 

“Okay, okay!” Ray gave in loudly, trying to smother up the thoughts that stirred up. He waited until both girls covered their eyes before shedding his boxers and quickly getting in the tub. He wasn't exactly uncomfortable but only Ryan had ever seen him without clothes. He trusted the girls, loved them to death, but the thought of them looking was both arousing and terrifying. He sat down between Barb's legs and quickly put the towel over his lap. “I'm done.”

“Excellent!” Tan, slender arms curled around his arms and over his chest. The Alpha was warm against his back and her scent reminded him of apricots drizzled in hot syrup, like one of those dessert dishes he saw in fancier restaurants. Her legs, long and smooth, fit well along his own and her palms felt like a blanket across his bare chest more than a violation. He thought it would feel wrong to have someone other than Ryan touch him like this but these were his friends – they would never push him. He knew with one word they would bundle him back up and they would go to work, no questions asked.

 

Instead Ray smiled at Lindsay when she climbed in, fitting easily between his ankles, the tub was spacious enough for all of them to stretch out. Though he did squeak when she pushed up his towel to show off more of his thighs, just barely keeping him covered. “Oh shut up. We have to get it _everywhere_ , short-shorts mean _short_. Now hold still. This is going to be cold at first but it'll warm up.”

 

The cream was chilly at first and his legs twitched around but he soon got used to it. She spread it up from his ankle to his knee in a thick layer at first, thumbs rubbing at his calves in a way that was almost a massage. Ray almost started to fall asleep under the treatment across his knees, his thighs...

 

“Lindsay!” Ray whimpered when the Omega girl hooked her fingers under his knee and nearly shoved it up to his chest. Barbara held fast and didn't let him squirm away. The red head was smirking again with that same, predatory expression. “Stop it! D-Don't look, for fuck's sake.”

  
“Ray,” Lindsay tisked, spreading Veet all under his thigh before working further down, “Just be patient. It'll only take a minute and it needs to be done. I'm not looking so don't get your panties in a twist.”

 

Ray felt spread open and overly warm with the scent of the Alpha female in his nose and the pretty Omega girl between his legs.

 

“But if you were...?” Barb prompted, cheek brushing through the boy's dark hair.

 

“I'd say that I'm sorry I left the toys at home,” Lindsay finished, slowly lowering the boy's leg before hooking the other and pushing it up even further. “Which reminds me, Ray, have you used the stuff I bought you?”

 

“I...I didn't think you actually wanted me to use that stuff,” Ray fumbled over his words as the girls smooth fingers fanned out across the back of his thigh. “It's a gag box, right?”

 

“You better use every one of them or I'm going to be seriously offended,” Lindsay replied firmly with a mock-frown. “Those are to help get you used to sex stuff so you can show off to Ryan. I've seen him when you work him up at his desk, that guy is packing. You're going to need some practice, young slut-hopper.”

 

Ray bit the side of his lip, stomach filling up with a new heat. “Do I really get him turned on at work?”

 

“I've seen how he looks at you, he'd bang you on his desk if you asked,” Barb snickered near his ear. “And think about how turned on he'll be seeing you in stockings. You'll be smooth for a few days after this, maybe you can finally sweet-talk your way into some sexy time.”

 

Lindsay's finger barely grazed his hole and he slapped the side of the tub and tried to push back, getting a nip on his ear from the Alpha to stay still. “God, you virgin, you got wet just _thinking_ of your Alpha.”

 

“H-He's not my Alpha yet,” Ray was shivering from the cool porcelain and the rush of adrenaline the brief touch had given him. “He hasn't asked.”

 

“You're still courting?” Barb awed. “Wow. Ryan really is a gentleman. I would've been sitting on your face after the third date.”

 

“You're awful,” Lindsay purred.

 

“I move quick and love what I love.”

 

Barbara started to hum and scent his hair, tightening her grip in a way that made his mind go fuzzy. Her chest was plush and inviting under his head so he relaxed against her and let Lindsay finish up, the Omega girl pumping more cream into her hands to cover up any spare spots left. The exhaustion he'd felt earlier started creeping up and that along with the smell of the Alpha drove him into a doze. He drifted in and out, lids too heavy to keep open for very long, and he caught bits and pieces. Lindsay smoothing shaving cream over her legs and gracefully swiping it away with a green and blue razor he was sure he'd seen the commercial for.

 

He sighed when he felt a fingertip brush his nipple. “They're so small and cute...”

 

“None of that, Barb, that's all Ryan's.”

 

“Ryan gets all the cool toys. Have you seen the way Dan has been swooning after him?”

  
“I'd pay money to see some Alpha-on-Alpha action.”

 

“You can always come over to girl night with me and Kara.”

 

Lindsay's hum was musical in his ears. “I might take you up on that.”

 

“How are you and Adam?”

 

“Him and his wife are lovely. She's gorgeous and he's amazing, but you know me – I'm not a home-wrecker and the moment she seemed uncomfortable I told her I was done. She's really sweet and they're perfect together. I didn't want to cause any friction.”

 

“You're a good friend and a rockin' Omega.”

 

“I know.”

 

Ray wasn't sure how long he was asleep but he felt warmth around his hips and lower back, coils of heat coming up around his ribs and legs. Something scraped at his legs in smooth, long stripes and gentle fingers followed it, soothing the scratchy sensation it left behind. His knees were lifted and that same almost-sharp feeling danced along the back of his thighs, leaving behind a cool sensation.

 

A single finger tapped at his hole to make him jump and he did, turning his face to nose at the Alpha's neck. His hair was pet and a kiss was placed below his jaw, lips much softer than he was used to. He sucked in a huge breath and let it out in a slow, single name. “Ryan...”

 

“That's it, Omega boy, just relax for a few more minutes while we clean you up.”

 

Ray obeyed and stayed still, nose tucked into Barbara's neck, the touch of something different giving him all the reason he needed to obey. He pried his eyes open long enough to see Lindsay using an actual razor to get some spots the cream missed. It felt strange and his legs felt cold but the water they'd run to fill the bottom was helping a lot. The towel over his groin was soaking it up and the warm sensation across his dick felt damn _good._

 

“Man, he really plumped up. Have you felt these thighs?”

 

“Lindsay.”

 

“I'm just saying...”

 

He started to drift off, the sound of lapping water reaching his ears as his hips slowly rocked up into a solid touch. He managed to crack open his eyes again when Barbara hissed a stern order to stop. The palm laying over the wet towel and his thickening cock jerked away.

 

“Now who's touching?”

 

“He's _pretty_ , Barb, and it's been a while for me.”

 

“Lindsay.” It was an Alpha command.

 

Big hazel eyes blinked up at Ray. “Sorry, man. I'll quit.”

 

Ray's smile was lazy, chest heavy with fatigue. “Knew you wanted my dick, Tuggey.”

 

A sharp smack to his inner thigh made him yelp and Barbara laugh. “Watch it, asshole.”

 

Ray yawned and let them stand him up, clutching his towel (for all the good it did) and slumped into the Alpha while Lindsay sprayed down his legs. Another dry towel patted him down. He didn't really register how much hair was going down the drain or how bare he was. Instead he waddled into the bedroom with his clothes and put his shirt and Twitch jacket back on, yanking on the boxer briefs (by the girls' requests) before plopping on Barb's bed.

 

“Okay, I'm decent,” he half-yelled, trailing into another yawn and rubbing his eyes behind his glasses. “You big pervs.”

 

He laid down and took the shorts that were given to him when the girls came in. They fit pretty well except he felt like his ass was being hugged as if he was straight out of the Dukes of Hazzard. The other two picked up his ankles and started slipping on the non-shear black stockings, a strip of lacy design at the top along with a tiny black bow on the outsides of each one. For a second they felt like those wintery thigh highs that hipster girls always wore but these looked more elegant, sexier, like something Barbara herself would wear. It was a smooth, feather-like sensation that they unrolled all the way up until they clung to the top of his thigh a couple inches below the line of the shorts.

 

“This feels good,” Ray slurred, wishing he had a Monster so he could properly wake up. “You girls are whiny bitches.”

 

Barbara and Lindsay both rolled their eyes before the blonde jumped up to her feet. “I'll get the glue.”

 

That caught his attention and he lifted his head up. “Glue?”

 

“To keep them up.”

 

Ray watched in horror as the pair put clear glue strips under the rim of the stockings and pressed them hard to his thighs. They used a lot of it too. The strips combined with the clinging elastic at the top of the material made it stay still when he got up and walked around in them. Some extra strips were put in his pocket just in case they slipped throughout the day.

 

Sipping a Monster in the car, Ray slowly came back into reality and ended up staring at his stocking-clad legs and his sneakered feet. Barbara and Lindsay were in the front seats, some strange folksy band playing on the stereo. “I feel naked.”

 

Barabara grinned in the mirror at him.

 

“This is some smooth shit.” Ray ran his hands over the stockings and marveled at his freezing, hairless legs underneath it. He touched the edge of his shorts and under, growing red when he realized how far up they'd shaved him. “Jesus, guys, I'm still a dude.”

 

“And now you're all ready for some sexy McLoving.”

 

“Shut up, Barb.”

 

o0o

 

It took the full car ride before Ray gained his confidence back. He checked out his legs and decided, yeah, he looked fucking good. He usually thought his legs were pretty short (he was roughly the size of a sixteen year old girl) but the girly garment seemed to add a couple inches. He strut into the building between his two friends and just grinned at all the staring.

 

Not for the first time, Ray was glad to have the boost and security that becoming an Omega had given him. A year ago he would've been horrified at the notion of doing something like this but thanks to Ryan's gentle cultivating and the biological push, he was much more comfortable in his skin. That, and he got a ton of compliments and open gapes.

 

Joel's stare seemed to hold more meaning behind it but he quickly shook his head and walked off.

 

Ray got Geoff's text that they were ready to kick off an early morning Let's Play while the Omega was in the break room grabbing a second Monster. An idea popped into his head and he tried not to run to the annex. He managed to sneak along the wall, his boyfriend hunched over a piece of his computer that was clogged with dust. He crept up before suddenly hopping up onto the Alpha's desk, crossing his legs and leaning back on his hands.

 

“Come on, Rye, it's time to-” he sucked in a breath. “ _Let's Play!_ ”

 

Ryan picked up his head, ready to tell his boyfriend to shut up and get off his desk, and then spotted the stockings. His mouth dropped open comically, glasses sliding down the bridge of his nose as he suddenly sat up, cheeks slowly coloring up as his eyes raked up the Omega's legs from ankle to thigh and back down.

 

“Pretty cool, huh?” Ray wiggled his leg. “I'm taking a bet with Barb and Lindsay about wearing this stuff all day. They helped me shave this morning and it's all super smooth. See?”

 

Ray teasingly ran his fingers over the strip of skin between the hem of his shorts and the top of the stockings. The lace design was silken under his touch and in this light the stockings looked solid, wrapping paper for a better present.

 

Ryan stood up suddenly, still staring at the Omega’s leg. “Barbara helped you?”

 

Ray shrugged with one shoulder. “She was really cool about it. And she smells amazing.”

 

Ryan’s hand shot out and grabbed a handful of his purple jacket, dragging him closer as the Alpha bent over the table to take a sniff at his neck. The apricot scent lingered on his skin, he knew it did by the way Ryan growled faintly. Though his nose stayed at his pulse, the fingers in his jacket untwisted and trailed down his chest, his stomach, skimming over his shorts and _just_ barely touching the top of his legs. “Ray…”

 

“Yes, Rye?” he hummed, tilting his head a little to show off his throat.

 

“I-“

 

“There you guys are!”

 

Ray shot off the desk and got to his feet, staring much too wide eyed at Geoff like the man had caught them doing something much worse. The older Alpha glanced between them and then his eyes fell on Ray’s legs, a dark brow raising. He took a long sip of his coffee, staring, then swallowed with a loud sigh. “ _Nice_. Knew I hired you for a reason.”

 

“Aw, Boss, I bet you say that to all the Lads,” Ray chuckled.

 

“I do now.” Geoff gestured with his mug. “Let’s get going, everyone’s ready. Jack already got your desk set up, Haywood, so no dawdling. It’s game time, boys.”

 

Ray followed behind Geoff and after a few seconds he realized Ryan was trailing _very_ close behind him. The Omega grinned to himself and slowed, glancing over his shoulder at the man’s stricken expression. He’d never seen Ryan so _stunned_ before. It was a good look on him. The Alpha’s knuckles occasionally brushed the edge of the stockings, the touch shy and timid, the last week of distance between them seeming to fade away. Ray felt cheeky but also more attractive than he had in a while. Maybe he was just giddy off the easy money or maybe it was the raw desire in Ryan’s eyes, but Ray felt damn good about himself.

 

The snickers from the interns and the wolf whistles from the office Alphas didn’t mean shit to him when he was the sole focus of his boyfriend’s attention again.

 

Ray sauntered into the office and plopped down in his seat with a happy sigh, arm stretched behind his head to grasp the back of the chair. He pointedly faced the room and crossed his legs, the stockings pulling thin at his knees and giving off an almost feminine glow in the soft light of the office. Jack and Michael whistled teasingly and Geoff ordered them to shut up before he hosed them down.

 

“It’s a bet with Barb and Linds,” Ray shrugged it off. “Cool your jets, boys.

 

Gavin blatantly stared, turning kind of pink around the edges. “This might be the bloody best bet ever.”

 

o0o

 

Dan came in two hours later during their break between videos and stopped dead in the doorway. He gaped at Ray’s legs. The Omega flashed him a wink and blew him a kiss, giving a horrible breathy greeting of _Hello, Mr. President_. Dan fished a twenty out of his pocket and handed it over.

 

Ray beamed. “You getting in on this bet, big boy?”

 

“Isn’t it twenty for a lapdance here in the states?”

 

Ray huffed and the other Lads brayed in laughter. Dan would’ve too but Ryan grabbed one of their firmer stuffed animals and bashed the Brit with it so hard in the stomach that he let out a breathless _ooof_ and bent over.

 

“For fuck’s sake, what do you make your toys out of? Lead?” Dan joked weakly, rubbing his ribs.

 

Ray shot Ryan a small glare before dragging the young Alpha over to the spare chair they’d snagged for him. “Here, sit behind me. There’s no errant plushies back here.”

 

o0o

 

“No, I swear I do!”

 

“You’re lying.”

 

“They might actually be mine…”

 

Ray snorted. “Your legs are twice as long as mine.”

 

“But my pair look just like them!” Ashley swore, leaning over in her chair as one of the interns set up her mic. “They have the bow and everything. That, or mine are thigh-highs.”

 

“My legs are too pasty for that sheer shit,” Ray pointed out, kicking one leg up for emphasis before leaning heavily against the table they used for _The Patch_. He was technically waiting for Ryan to maybe snag a quick make out session before they recorded but the Alpha was running late with Gus. Ashley chatted lightly about different kinds of lingerie and Ray wrinkled his nose up at the suggestions.

 

“What the hell’s a ‘teddy’?”

 

“It’s like a silk, see-through dress,” Ashley explained. “And you wear, like, slutty stuff underneath and it kind of makes you look innocent.”

 

“That’s straight up cross-dressing.”

 

“And what’s _this_?”

 

“A bet.”

 

“Ray,” Ashley said his name in the same patient tone that Lindsay had all morning, “There is nothing wrong with wanting to turn your Alpha on. Boy Omegas look just as good in this kind of stuff as girls do. Look what nature did to your hips.”

 

“I do have thunder thighs now and fantastically soft hair,” Ray added thoughtfully.

 

Across the stage, Burnie passed through to double check with the floor leader on the on-screen panel displays to aid the three during their talk. He wanted everything to run smooth today because he’d had a headache since the moment he’d woken up and Caleb had been smelling fantastic all morning, the brat running around him and being really fucking helpful. And Miles had been sporting the scent of a knotted bitch all morning, strutting around with his _I got fucked real good last night by my crazy hot Alpha girlfriend_ expression that everyone hated. The hormones had been getting to him but he was trying so hard to be good, to press down those instincts and just be their boss.

 

So far he’d done well but then he caught sight of Ray in his pretty black thigh highs.

 

Burnie stopped dead and stared without shame, struck in more ways than one. His first thought was of Joel and how good his insanely long legs would look in something like that. Back in college they probably were, the older Alpha confessing to wearing his filthy secret when his roommates were out and indulging in some self-play. He started walking, mind swirling with images of his new bed mate and all the pretty panties he had filling the top drawer of his dresser. They were too old to be boyfriends, that was a young man’s game, but Joel was his…and he was Joel’s…

 

_And that Omega is presenting._

 

The thought led him onto the set, eyes glazed over and hand already reaching. They had looked like those flirty, long socks girls in coffee shops wore in autumn but up close his gut tightened when he realized they were stockings. _Filthy little slut._

 

Then he was touching them. They felt just as decadent as they looked against his fingertips, the elastic clinging to him like an embrace when he hooked under it. He was about to snap the material to hear the satisfying _flick_ of skin on blended nylon but it was drowned out by his own hard grunt of pain. Something blunt drove into his stomach and it took him a moment to shake himself out of his hazy thoughts to realize he was doubled over and Ray was holding the sand-filled hour glass they often used on the show. And he couldn’t breathe.

 

Ray was staring at him, horrified, clutching the prop with shaking hands. He had every right to defend himself but he’d been startled and struck too hard. The pained, weak sounds coming out of his boss pulled at his heart strings. Burnie staggered, still clutching his stomach, and the Omega had no idea what to do. Was he going to get into trouble? Was that assault?

 

“What the bloody hell was that, Burns?”

 

Dan’s crisp, authoritative bark made Ray drop his head and put his eyes to the ground. The young Alpha saddled up to him and slowly eased the hour glass out of his hands and set it aside on the table. “Ray? Ray, look at me.”

 

A finger tucked under his chin and raised his head, doe-like eyes staring back at him. They were close to height but he had always felt smaller than Dan, in more ways than one. “Is that all he did? Just that touch? Did he say anything?”

 

“It just…happened…” Ray managed to get out, Ashley agreed somewhere behind him. The Beta girl didn’t want to get involved in an Alpha fight.

 

“You’re alright?” Dan pressed, looking him over, watching the Omega nodded. “Good. And _you._ ”

 

Dan whirled around as Burnie recovered, glaring the Alpha down. “You don’t just put your hands on an Omega like that.”

 

“Jesus, Gruchy, I barely touched him,” Burnie half-wheezed.

 

The use of his last name set off those old school, distinctly _male_ instincts and he squared his shoulders. “Keep your bloody hands off him.”

 

“Oh, what are you going to do?” Burnie dismissed, putting his back to the younger Alpha.

 

“Don’t walk away from me!” Dan demanded, going up and grabbing the man by the arm, forcing him to turn around. A fist flew at him, sloppy and unplanned, and it grazed his cheek. Not enough to hurt but he sure hell felt it and it was a challenge that set fire in his blood. He threw away Burnie’s fist and stepped up into his personal space, getting in his face. “You want to start a punch up? I can do that. You don’t fucking touch my friend.”

 

“ _Friend_ , sure,” Burnie hissed out. “Stop acting like I’m the only Alpha sniffing around claimed property, kid.”

 

“Dan?” Ray called from the table, hoping to resolve it.

 

“ _Dan_.”

 

The name was said with such vindication in a low, Alpha tone and it made the Brit give pause. Ryan walked up quickly to the two Alphas and put his arms between them, forcing them apart if only for a foot of distance. They both fought him but he was strong, muscle flexing heavily through his arms, teeth grit at the exertion it took to keep the two men from surging back at each other. Three generations of Alphas stood there for a moment, all starting to build up a growl, but Ryan was the first to choke down the sound and try to use his higher brain functions.

 

“What is going on between you two?” Ryan demanded, forearms braced on each man’s chest. “Did I see you take a swing at Dan?”

 

Burnie scoffed. “Yeah you did, the kid put his hands on me!”

 

Dan’s nostrils flared. “Because he touched Ray!”

 

“You _what_?” Ryan snarled, getting an answering sound in return, and he decided to swallow that anger down too. “Dan is hardly a _kid_. No one has the right to put their hands on anyone else. We all know that. Hey!” Ryan pushed back, driving them apart when Dan tried to grab at Burnie. “What did I just say?”

 

“He’s not even sorry!” Dan declared bitterly. “Just look at him, Ryan, he doesn’t give a right toss about what he did.”

 

“Okay, so I fucking touched him,” Burnie admitted with a heavy heart. “But Ray hit me and I was going to apologize but then macho fucking soldier here decided to butt in.”

 

“Ray?” Ryan prompted calmly.

 

“I hit him pretty good, man,” Ray’s smile was frail as he tried to make light of it.

 

“Then we need to be adults about this because we’re at work.” Ryan hated it and his Alpha blood was _screaming_ but they were civilized and all friends and this was how it worked. “Everyone apologize.”

 

Burnie took a step back, getting away from the younger Alphas, and crossed his arms over his chest. “I…I’m sorry, Ray. I shouldn’t have done that. It wasn’t cool.”

 

“Maybe I shouldn’t have hit you so hard,” Ray offered in return, glancing at the hour glass. “At least not with that.”

 

Dan was frowning sharply. “So that’s it then?”

 

“This is not your fight,” Ryan assured him. The Brit started to snarl, an angrily clipped sound, but Ryan drew back his upper lip in his own silent warning and spread his hand out on the younger man’s chest. Dan’s warmth soaked into his palm but he ignored it, fanning his fingers flat across the boy’s chest. “I said it’s not your fight. We can’t have everything end in a brawl or we’ll all end up embarrassed.”

 

“You and Joel hit it off pretty well afterward,” Burnie commented.

 

“Shut up, Burns,” Ryan snapped, never looking away from the younger Alpha’s dark eyes. “I think we all just need to walk away for a moment. Don’t you think?”

 

Dan reluctantly nodded, glaring at the floor as the man’s hand dropped from his chest. He walked off without another word and Ryan was tempted to follow him but his heart was torn between that and checking in on his Omega. He watched Dan go but managed to tear his eyes away long enough to cast Burnie a hard look. “Shouldn’t you be talking to Joel?”

 

“Fuck,” Burnie cursed under his breath, turning and walking away.

 

“I’ll be back in ten minutes, Ash,” Ryan promised, taking his boyfriend’s hand and leading him back around the stage. It was a bit darker on the back side, the lights outlining the stage but not quite meeting the rest of the room. He took them both to a familiar stack of prop boxes and crates that had once held go-karts and helmets. It was well hidden from everyone.

 

Ray found himself picked up and put on a box, smiling in hopes of the make out session he’d been looking forward to, but one glance at his boyfriend’s distraught expression killed that dead. Ryan was a pale shell of the stalwart Alpha he’d portrayed out in front of the others. This was the vulnerable side that Ray had only recently got to see. He was flattered that Ryan trusted him so much but his heart swelled with worry.

 

Ryan fit between his legs and wrapped his arms around the Omega, cuddling in closer and burying his face in the soft plush of his jacket. “I should’ve been there.”

 

“Jeeze, Rye, is that what this is about?” Ray wrapped his arms around him, hugging him back before starting to run his hands through the older man’s hair. Along his shoulders, his neck, fingers massaging lightly to tell him that everything was going to be okay. He dropped kisses wherever he could, nuzzling behind the Alpha’s ear and cooing wordlessly. He’d learned well from Ryan how to soothe someone – the Alpha had done it to him for so long, it was hard not to be an expert. After a minute or two of Ryan’s quiet sulking the Omega pulled back, the denial making his boyfriend whine.

 

Ryan’s eyes were closed tight but he slowly pried them open when he lost contact.

 

“Here.” Ray zipped open his Twitch hoody and bared his neck, a fresh wave of his scent hitting the Alpha’s nose. “Will this help?”

 

Ryan dove in to kiss and nuzzle all along the hollow of his throat, lapping firmly at his pulse until it fluttered under his tongue. Apologies started to spill between his desperate kisses. The heavy scenting made Ray’s lashes flutter but he didn’t sink into it like he usually did. Ryan needed him.

 

“Stop saying you’re sorry. You didn’t do anything,” Ray reassured him, petting through the Alpha’s fine hair. “You guys were just posturing, right? Alpha stuff?” His boyfriend whined softly, a pained sound he’d never heard before that made him hug him tighter. “Burnie was just being a shit. He knows I’ll deck him if he tries anything.”

 

“Another Alpha was there to protect you,” Ryan finally confessed in a low whisper that the other almost missed. The Gent’s thoughts were jumbled and chaotic. Another ( _younger_ ) Alpha protected what was his, defended his Omega. An Alpha that he cared for, that was technically competition, that he considered a friend. Ryan felt every one of his years, words like _inadequate_ and _insipid_ burning paths through his mind.

  
“God, Ryan, this really got to you. Dan was just trying to be a good friend. You know you’re the only guy for me.”

 

Ryan let the Omega scrub their cheeks, the boy’s purr light and barely audible but the vibration traveling through them both. “You’re strong, and amazing, and super fucking hot. You’re also the best boyfriend a guy could have…maybe even the best Alpha an Omega could have?”

 

The last was said with hope and a small smile, the boy peering into Ryan’s face for some sort of hint that he was on the right track. The Alpha looked surprised for a moment before he tucked his face back against the other’s jacket, hiding his guilty expression.

 

“I don’t deserve it,” he lamented, holding tight to the Omega’s waist. “After today…and the way I’ve been treating you-”

 

“Treating you?” Ray laughed breathlessly. “Ah, Rye, you’ve just been busy, we both have. And here I thought I was the scent-slut. You’ve been missing me that bad, _Alpha_?”

 

The tease fell flat and Ryan stayed quiet.

 

“How about I come home with you tonight?” Ray prodded the Alpha’s side, placing a sweet kiss in his hair ( _warmth, butter, spice_ ). “You can rub your scent all over me. Maybe we can try that full scenting thing again? Except I could do it to you.” Ryan’s head picked up and he snagged a quick kiss before the Alpha could move away. “Show you just how much you mean to me, just how good of a boyfriend you are.” The second kiss was longer, languid, a hint of tongue making him sigh against the older man’s lips. “What a good Alpha you are.”

 

Ryan swallowed dryly and put on a small smile, heart starting to lighten up. “Can we leave now?”

 

“Right after I get my bet money.”

 

o0o

 

Calmed by his Omega's scent and words, Ryan sought Dan out. The Brit was kind of hiding with the RWBY team where Kerry was trying to convince him to try some voice acting work.

 

“It's a helluva' lot of fun, man.”

 

“I don't know,” Dan hummed, tossing a small Nerf football he'd found in the corner of the room. He spotted Ryan and seemed to freeze.

 

“Hey guys,” Ryan greeted from the doorway. “Can I borrow Dan? It will only take a minute.”

 

Dan jumped up obediently, the toy falling from his fingers. “Yeah. Be right back, lads.”

 

He led the younger Alpha out into an empty part of the hallway and turned to face him. “I wanted to thank you for jumping in when you did earlier. I appreciate it. Ray's far from defenseless but he's still a new Omega and he's just now getting used to the attention that causes. And thank you for not retaliating when Burnie swung at you. I know you could've wiped the floor with him and he's done some deplorable stuff but he's still our boss and you've made things easier.”

 

The praise would have been above and beyond flattering, making Dan shiver and maybe swoon a bit like a simpering Omega, but the delivery was stiff and robotic. He couldn't tell if Ryan meant it or he was forcing himself to say it. The older man looked awful, too, nowhere near as intimidating as he had during Dan's scrap with Burnie. He seemed flushed but exhausted, posture defensive and eyes a little red.

 

Then he turned to leave.

 

Dan chirped and grabbed his hand, keeping the Alpha in place. The strangely Omega sound startled them both but it didn't falter the Brit's determination. “Are you mad at me, Ryan?”

 

Ryan gave a long, world-weary sigh and cupped Dan's cheek with his free hand, thumb grazing the red mark Burnie's knuckles had left. “I'm trying very hard not to be.”

 

Ryan left the young Alpha there, standing and gaping – heartsick.

 

o0o

 

Ryan tried to bottle up his feelings for the rest of the day but it felt like years before six rolled around. He almost made it but he saw Joel and Burnie arguing in the older Alpha's office. There was a flash of something old and primal in his chest and he was walking toward the door before he could stop himself. He'd sworn not to do this, not to give into his urges, but Joel was his friend and Burnie had crossed a line and as Ray's boyfriend he had to at least say something.

 

“Whoa!” Joel declared the moment he stepped into the office, palms up and ready, “Ryan, man, listen – this is just – it's – _please_ don't get angry.”

 

“I'm already angry,” Ryan replied, walking toward Burnie with one goal in mind – to put his fist in his face. It was dumb and ridiculous but it would feel good.

 

“Come on, don't do this,” Joel begged, getting between them and putting a hand on Ryan's chest. The younger Alpha snarled and Joel shuddered, briefly dipping his head, but when he looked up it was a gentle demand. He could almost feel the phantom burn in his neck from Haywood's bite but Burnie's new marks ran deeper and meant more. He would do anything to protect him. _My mate._

 

“Don't submit to him,” Burnie snapped behind him.

 

Joel acted like he couldn't hear him. “It's hormones, Ryan, you know it is.”

 

“Don't make excuses for me!”

 

Joel whirled on his boss, dark eyes set in a glare that almost stung. “Stop it.”

 

Burnie huffed and tried to go around him, a few choice words for Ryan ready, but the older Alpha grabbed his chin and forced him to look at him.”You know what you did and we're going to talk about that later.”

 

Burnie immediately backed down with a small whine, the speed of the reaction kind of knocking Ryan out of the loop of his anger. Sensing the man was sated, Joel turned back to the Gent. “He'll never do it again. It was a lapse. You've seen how good he's been lately.”

 

Ryan relented but he wasn't pleased. “I know it's a process but don't touch him again. I will _destroy_ you, do you understand?”

 

The threat was met with a reassuring smile from Joel and a sheepish look from Burnie.

 

“We get it, Ryan. You've got my promise.”

 

“And I want him to apologize to Dan as well,” Ryan added halfway to the door. “You don't put your hands on either of them.”

 

o0o

 

Dan dragged another crappy-tasting American beer out of the carton at the foot of the bed, bouncing back up onto the mattress and twisting off the cap. He had the TV blaring some program that was just as awful as the beer. He'd told his best friend to go sleep with his mates because they all needed some time alone. Gavin's bed was comfortable and he'd wished he'd sprayed it down with scent neutralizer. The scent of ex-boyfriend was reminding him of just how alone he was. The mating scent that had tried to creep under the door had been met with a firmly rolled up towel shoved under the biggest space in the frame.

 

The longer the night went on, the more he drank. The more he drank the lonelier he got. The lonelier he got, the more he thought of his stupid heart and how it was going after all the wrong people.

 

Dan had tried to text Ray and Ryan a dozen different times and a few of the messages were lodged in his Draft folder, unsent. He was confused and he wasn't sure what he was doing but it felt good to see the words written out, a hope he wouldn't indulge in.

 

**RayN -  
 _This is kind of dumb and out of the blue but we should go on a date while I'm here. I like you a lot, mate, and it could be loads of fun._**

_**< 3 D** _

 

**Rye -  
 _We should go to dinner tomorrow night. Just you and me._**

_**\- D** _

 

**RayN -  
 _Not to push anything, but would you ever consider a long-distance courting?_**

_**\- D** _

 

**Rye -  
 _Can I come over for a bit? I want talk, maybe figure out what I did wrong. I don't want you mad at me, mate. I don't know what I did._**

_**\- D** _

 

Dan tossed his phone as hard as he could but it managed to _thunk_ into a pile of Gavin's old clothes that were too small, clothes that he used to wear back in England when it was just the two of them. He drained the rest of his bottle in half a dozen chugs, gasping for breath as he grabbed for a fifth one. The new one tasted just as awful and bitter and he winced but it didn't stop him from finishing half of it in one go. The near-instant buzz of alcohol felt like a bandaid.

 

Mouth wet and lungs burning, Dan raked a hand through his hair and tried to get a hold of himself. He drew a knee up and put his forehead against it, clenches his eyes shut and gripping the glass bottle as hard as he could. _I'm a right idiot._

 

o0o

 

The curtains fluttered softly and the crickets chirped weakly outside the window, the overhead fan whirring quietly and cooling their skin. Ray was stretched out flat on his back, pillow tucked under his head, whole body buzzing from having explored his boyfriend's body. Though there was delightful softness along Ryan's stomach and upper arms it was pure muscle and strength laced into his forearms, his calves, across his shoulders and chest.

 

And Ray had explored it all with his fingers and teeth, scenting the Alpha from the waves of his strawberry blonde hair down to his furred thighs. Damn Ryan for keeping on his boxers, the material heavy and hiding everything he'd been wanting to see. But the Alpha had taught him that it was a slow, intimate process and he'd done his mentor proud. He'd nuzzled and licked every scent gland he could remember from health class, managing to nail most of them by the way he got Ryan purring.

 

The Omega had nosed at the hem of his boyfriend's underwear and had gotten a nice pet through his hair for it but he hadn't lingered. That wasn't what tonight was about. Ray did leave a nice little bite mark at the top of his pale stomach but that was all.

 

Ryan had his arms curled around the Omega's stomach, eyes closed, murmuring sweet endearments and making more pleased Alpha noises. He was out of it and Ray could tell, it was all his fault. He rubbed between his boyfriend's shoulder blades and could almost feel his satisfaction. He smelled like Ray now, his natural scent rubbed and licked off his skin.

 

That same deep intimacy that had come over them the first time was in place again.

 

Ray fell asleep with Ryan rubbing his cheek against his stomach, whispering about how thankful he was to have him.

 

“You and me both, buddy.”

 

* * *

 

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	65. Michael and Gavin VII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin realizes he likes Michael a lot.

**Want to know more about[my update schedule](http://emono-omae.tumblr.com/post/98123930496/i-know-that-no-one-actually-cares-because-we-all)? Want to read this fic in [a linear fashion](http://emono-omae.tumblr.com/post/99261946051/timeline-for-id-like-it-better-if-i-could-win-at-it)?**

 

* * *

 

Gavin's nose scrunched up as he realized he couldn't go back to sleep. He'd woken up to roll over but a damn bird had tapped on the window and made him jump. There was no way he was falling under again after that. He sighed and flopped onto his back, mid-sprawl when he felt something warm hit his hand. He looked over, a little startled and still in the foggy haze of sleep, and instantly calmed when he saw the wavy crimp of shorn curls and the broad expanse of a pale shoulders.

 

Michael grumbled at the contact and rolled over onto his back, baring more creamy flesh. He was fast asleep, arm thrown over his head and fingers lax upon the pillow. His puffy nipples started to harden up in the cool air, goosebumps cropping up along his fit little tummy. For an on-air hothead, everything about Michael was very soft. He was bubbly and happy when it was just them, though a little rough in public to keep his tough guy persona in check. His laugh was uncontrollable and contagious, his imitation Alpha growls both intimidating and adorable. And all those freckles…Gavin hungered constantly to trace the unknown constellation with his tongue, to map out roads across Michael’s skin until they were both too exhausted to continue.

 

His lovely little boy with his plump mouth and pretty pink cock. With his big smile and even bigger heart. With all his half-synthetic rage and belly laughs and self-confidence issues. The perfect way they fit together when they cuddled and their banter. The intense way they fought and the loving way they made up afterward.

 

Gavin started to pull the blanket down. He moved slowly so as not to wake the other up, hooking his fingers in the edge of the other Omega’s boxers and carefully tugging them down. Though Michael was a bit on the short side, his legs looked miles long all spread out in bed, muscles corded tightly along his calves and beneath the milky flesh of his thighs. Gavin gasped as he took in the sight, eyes lingering on the dark dusting of hair beneath the boy’s navel and traveling down to the nest of curls that rested at his limp cock. It was so small and cute like this, sleepy and waiting for his mouth. He straddled Michael’s legs, pausing several times to make sure he hadn’t woken his friend up.

 

Then he grabbed the lube from the bedframe.

 

Gavin made sure he’d warmed the slick up enough before he touched Michael’s cock, fingers just exploring at first. He’d jerked his boy off in the shower and they rutted together a lot with the lights off, but he had yet to really _look._ Michael’s cut cock was smooth of a knot and the head wasn’t as thick as those on Alphas but he had some girth on Gavin’s own. It was a nice size and as it plumped up he realized it fit very well in his hand, maybe even better in his mouth. He stroked the full length and listened with a pleased smile as Michael started to make little sounds, hair scraping against the pillow and arms moving restlessly on the bed. Gavin was amazed at how his boy’s hair changed from russet to chestnut with just a flick of the light.

 

He sometimes daydreamed that Michael was some sort of changeling sent to seduce both Geoff and himself until they were hopelessly in love with him. Except for Michael would never eat their hearts or smother them in their sleep. Their boy was amazing and sweet and everything either of them could’ve asked for.

 

Michael started shifting his hips, muscles flexing under inky skin as a light sweat broke out on his brow. Gavin’s hand was slow and sure on the Omega’s cock, thumb swiping at the head every so often to smear the beads of pre-cum there. The flesh was hot against his palm and he could see his boy’s sack all dark and rosy and drawn up tight against his body. He was tempted to slip his other hand down and see if Michael was wet but he was hypnotized by the display in front of him. His boy was whining _please_ under his breath, the ripe red of his cheeks burning splotchy paths down his throat and onto the expanse of his chest.

 

Gavin’s heart swelled up three times its size, his lungs feeling squished and his ribs aching from the pressure. His throat closed up and his tongue went dry. Looking at Michael, seeing him so happy and open…he couldn’t describe it. It was like feeling everything at once. Excitement burned through him like stomach acid and he wasn’t sure if he was going to combust or get sick. All he knew was that he was throbbing in his boxers and gaping like a fish as he tried to memorize every detail.

 

Michael’s eyes cracked open to reveal their dark, glassy irises and a gaze that was full of trust.

 

“I think I love you, Michael,” Gavin breathed, stunned at the realization.

 

The other Omega’s moan cut off into a gasp, eyes clenching shut once more before he came. Gavin worked him through it with the same deliberate slowness as before, panting softly as Michael’s body went rigid before he started rolling into it, riding his orgasm all the way to the end. A brief purr left the older Omega as the sweet waves of ecstasy crashed through him, the Brit’s name falling from his lips like a prayer of gratitude.

 

With a muttered _God damn it_ , Michael slumped into the pillow.

 

Gavin chittered lowly and dropped his head to nose at his boy’s quivering tummy, hesitating all long enough to admire it before starting to lick the skin clean. Michael’s cum was starchy and warm across his taste buds and he lapped up every drop, cleaning his fingers as well as the other Omega groaned in appreciation. He would have stayed there all day, kissing and darting his tongue across pale skin, but Michael sat up and cupped a hand under his jaw.

 

Gavin smiled as he followed the hand up and pecked his boy on the lips, squirming into his lap and resting hands on the other’s damp sides. Michael’s eyes were wide open now and searching his own, brows furrowed curiously. “Are you sure, Gav?”

 

Then he remembered he said he loved him. Gavin could feel his ears burning but he nodded, mouth still too dry to form any words. He was nervous, he realized – they both were. He nuzzled Michael’s cheek and kissed him again, harder this time, fingertips digging in just enough for the other Omega to feel it.

 

A sudden burst of tender kisses rained down on Gavin’s face and he started to laugh, the barely-there sensation tickling him and sending a swarm of butterflies through his stomach. He tried to return them but his boyfriend was too fast and precise, taking him off guard with each wet peck. The giggles died away when his mouth was taken with _heat_ and he could do nothing but open up for him.

 

“I love you too, boy,” Michael replied, beaming at the Brit.

 

“R-Really, Michael?” The Omega’s name was drawn out into a coo, fading uncertainty coloring his voice.

 

“Hell yeah,” Michael promised, cupping the other Omega’s dick through his boxers, “Now lay out and let your boy take care of you.”


	66. Ryan, Ray, and Dan III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dan learns the truth. It's not so bad.

***Technical Difficulties music***

**AND WE'RE BACK. Sorry about the long wait, folks, Halloween stole my heart and wouldn't give it back. But now we're back to our regularly scheduled programs and I hope you're not disappointed by what I've cooked up for you.**

 

* * *

 

The bedroom was saturated with the smell of lustful, musky Alpha. The small chest of toys Joel had collected over the years was laid open by the bed and had obviously been rifled through. The expensive leather cuffs he'd bought for a Beta girlfriend to use on him were now wrapped nicely along Burnie's wrists. The strap connecting them slithered down the wall and latched tight to the bedframe, stretching the Alpha's fit arms above his head with very little slack. Bite marks littered the younger man's skin, each was more colorful and deeper than the last. The imprints of teeth curled along his shoulders and across his chest, the lines of his hips, some even across his legs. There was a bloody one on the inside of a tan, inner thigh that would have to be cleaned later on. A simple leather gag had been strapped across Burnie's mouth after he'd started babbling and couldn't stop towards the start of this. It covered his mouth completely and had a nice, soft compressor inside to keep his tongue useless. He was sweating profusely and his hair was curling, clinging to his forehead, every muscle strained beautifully as he was tormented.

  
The pale Alpha straddling his waist looked cool in comparison with only a few beads of moisture across his forehead. There was a stern, neutral expression on his face and no matter how Burnie moved between his friend's thighs he could not get him to yield. Joel was so gorgeous above him and smelled so _clean_ like everything he wanted. Tight, leather boy-cut shorts clung tight to his lover's thighs and hugged his hard cock nicely. The sight of them made his cock leak and the younger Alpha whined when his knot throbbed painfully from the burst of arousal. Joel had worked him up when they'd began and made him swell with lots of well-placed squeezes and sucks from his hot mouth. Once he had fattened up a silicone Alpha-ring had been eased down his cock and wrapped around his knot. The cruel toy kept enough pressure to keep his knot infalted but wouldn't let him expand enough to spill.

 

Joel's nails raked down his chest and he bucked, body so sensitive now that even touches that were supposed to hurt felt _amazing_. The strain made his thighs sting. The skin stretched across them was red from being slapped whenever the younger Alpha had squirmed too much. A punishment for disobeying. The blow made his cock visibly pulse and a thick, pearly drop slipped down his length.

 

“What did I say?” Joel snarled.

 

Burnie made a weak noise, brain all fuzzy from arousal and sense-overload, lungs so full of his lover's scent that he couldn't remember what it was like not to smell it.

 

“What did I say?” he snapped, louder and sharper than before as he smacked a hand down on the man's chest. Burnie cried out around his gag and his eyes rolled back into his head. “If you touch the Omegas again, I'll leave you. We'd be _done_.”

 

Burnie whined, a tear leaking down his temple as he pleaded behind his gag. The words came out muffled and useless.

 

“But you barely touched him,” Joel sighed lowly. “You scared him though and that's why I'm doing this. You can't scare Omegas, you can't make them feel helpless. It's _wrong_. You used to know that. And I'm going to make sure you remember that with every fucking mark I put on you. Do you understand?”

 

Burnie nodded quickly, the word _please_ coming out smothered behind the leather gag.

 

“Are you ready to beg me properly?” Joel waited until the younger Alpha nodded before he carefully unbuckled the gag from the back of his lover's head. He cupped Burnie's chin to slowly ease the compress from his tongue and hushed him when he made a noise of discomfort. The gag was laid aside and out of the way, it's time over. He tenderly ran his thumb along the marks on Burnie's cheeks and the sore corners of his mouth.

 

“I'll do better,” Burnie rasped, voice hoarse from misuse. It had been a long time since he'd scened like this but he was nowhere near his limit. “You're all I need, Joel, please, just take the ring off. It _hurts_.” He threw his head back and showed off the smooth curve of his neck in submission. He would do anything to get the ring off and get Joel to give him what he needs.

 

“So good for me,” Joel murmured, running his hand up the man's chest much more gently and pinching a dark nipple until it hardened. The delay of gratification had every inch of him re-wired to make each touch go straight to his cock. He slid his hand up further and wrapped it around the base of Burnie's throat with just enough pressure for him to feel it but not enough to hurt him.

  
“I bet you'd like to get a hold of me, huh?” Joel taunted as he dragged his thumb along the man's Adam's apple. “Fuck up into me, make me take it.”

 

“Anything you want.” Burnie's voice was in threads, needy and strained. “Fuck me if you want, Joel, I-I just need something.” Joel was surprised when the other spread his legs and bared his neck so beautifully. “Bite me, fuck me, _anything_. Just want you. I-I don't want an Omega. Just you, babe, you know that.” Those blue eyes were watery and were almost swallowed up by his pupils. “I was thinking of you in those stockings, I swear. I lost it for a second and it won't happen again.”

 

Joel tightened his grip on the Alpha's throat and kissed him thoroughly, devouring his hot words. “Shh, we'll talk after I'm done with you. But I forgive you, Michael.”

 

Fresh, relieved tears trickled the younger Alpha's sweat-slick hair.

 

“How about I take that ring off?” Joel wiped them away with his thumb. “You can watch me work myself open and I'll ride your cock, _Alpha_.”

 

Burnie nodded eagerly. When the ring was rolled down his cock he made a sound so loud the dog across the street barked.

 

An hour later, Joel was gently applying ointment on the rough scratches and deep bite marks decorating his lover's body. It was massaged into Burnie's raw wrists until the ache there faded. The younger Alpha drifted peacefully, head cushioned by a pillow as the other rubbed Neosporin into the slightly bloody mark on the inside of his thigh. “I shouldn't have bit so hard. I got carried away, Michael, I'm so sorry.”

 

Burnie hummed as a bandage was laid over the teeth marks. Medical tape was ripped with sharp canines and the strips secured the edge of the gauze.

 

“I'll pick you up something that will stay in the morning.” Joel promised as he shut the metal med kit and put it on the floor. They were both covered in drying sweat and tacky spunk and they should shower but it could wait. They were both strung out from the scene and he'd coaxed two exhausting orgasms out of his friend. The hot water would feel good, maybe the wet wipes on the nearby table, and his mind was buzzing with the thought of past partners and disease and how he still needed to get himself tested from their first bare fuck.

 

Then Burnie's eyes met his, the gaze so clear now yet brimming in warm content. Joel shrugged off the itchy anxiety and crawled up to spoon behind his lower, wrapping his arm around his middle and tucking his nose into his nape.

 

“I needed that,” Burnie admitted, sounding so small despite his status and stature. “I...needed to get my head on straight.”

 

Joel pressed a kiss to his damp hairline. “I know. I think I did too.”

 

o0o

 

The first thing Burnie did when he got to the office the next morning was approach Ray with the rest of the AH crew circled protectively around the Omega and apologize. He didn't go into specifics and from Geoff's glower he didn't have to. Burnie gave a full apology to make up for the haphazard one he'd given after the incident. Michael looked ready to deck him but Ray accepted his apology again with a steady, calm tone that defused the tension in the room.

 

“I'm just glad I didn't break the hourglass. Destroying canon is not my favorite thing.”

 

“Lies,” Burnie joked back.

 

Ryan breathed a little easier, “And Dan?”

 

“He's my next stop.”

 

Burnie found Dan about an hour later looking a little hungover but no worse for wear. It was a sad look on a normally happy-go-lucky guy. His apology was met with a slight smile. “It wasn't my fight, yeah? What do I care?”

 

Burnie left it. He couldn't afford to be involved in any drama. He made a note to ask Gavin later if his best mate was okay but it would be better to keep his distance.

 

o0o

 

Dan made a point to stay away as much as possible as the morning went on. He mulled things over and really thought about what had happened and what he wanted to happen. Around noon he settled on the decision that he would ask Ray to lunch and propose a courtship. Maybe something long-distance if he was okay with it, maybe suggest only doing it while he was here so they could make a decision when he was scheduled to leave. Ray seemed like the kind of guy who would wait.

 

He caught up to Ray in the hall and the Omega beamed at him so brightly it reminded him of the sun breaking through the clouds. All the bitterness from the night before disappeared. He caught a whiff sweetness but there was warmth there now. It complimented him very well.

 

“Where have you been all day, Dan-o?” Ray asked, nudging their shoulders as they walked.

  
Dan shrugged it off. “Just exploring the place, shaking a bit of a hangover. You hungry, mate?”

 

“Starving.”

 

Dan gathered up his courage to invite him to lunch, to ask the big question, but he stopped when he heard a familiar voice call the Omega's name. They both stopped and turned to see Ryan approaching them with a confidant strut in his step. The Alpha looked effortlessly cool, hair swept back and sunglasses perched atop his head. Dan sighed to himself and wished he could attain that kind of poise and presence. He wasn't that much younger than Ryan, he should be able to do it. He was torn between jealousy and admiration when the man caught up to them.

 

“Ray, why don't you go out to lunch with me? We've got a small group going.” Ryan asked, thumbing behind him, Alpha tone slipping in towards the end. “I'm leaving _now_.”

 

Ray perked up when his ears caught the inflection.

 

“Uh, actually, Ray,” Dan fumbled out as he touched the boy's arm. “I thought you could show me a good place to eat. Gavin's left me alone and I'm kind of hopeless.”

 

Ray frowned and looked between the two Alphas, brow pinched up as he sensed some tension. He wasn't sure what it was about but he didn't like it.

 

“Yeah, Dan, no offense, but I've been hanging out with you a lot lately,” Ray stated, patting the young Alpha's shoulder. “I've kinda' been a bad boyfriend. Rain check, though, for sure.”

 

Dan looked like he'd been smacked. “What?”

 

“Oh fuck, I didn't tell you did I?” Ray ducked his head briefly, embarrassed for his fake-forgetfulness. “It's still really new to me. I thought one of the guys said something. Ryan and I are together.”

 

“Oh,” Dan deadpanned as he tried to process the new piece of info.

 

Ray let his hand linger on the man's back. “I guess I'm a shitty friend too. Did you seriously not know? It's not a secret or anything.”

 

“No, no, I guess that makes sense.” Dan quickly stepped away to break the contact. He felt like burying himself under the floor or jumping out the window, anything to get the helpless feeling of stupidity to go away. He rubbed his forehead nervously, struggling to keep his composure. That warmth in Ray's scent, the hints of sweetness that trailed behind Ryan – he should have known. “You two smell like each other.”

 

“We haven't scented in a week or two. I've been busy, I guess.” Ray looked shyly at Ryan, the Alpha's expression indulgent and not at all angry. “Usually we do it all the time.” His laugh was nervous as he rethought his decision to not tell Dan about his relationship. “Guess I smell more like you than him. Are you...upset or something, man?”

 

“Me? No, you two make a fine pair.” Dan hurriedly assured him. His eyes flicked to the floor as he tried to deal with just how heavy his chest felt. “Just lovely.” He looked up again and a mask of calm was in place, smiling even as he took another step back. “You lot enjoy your lunch. I'll go find Gavin.”

 

Dan took off faster than was considered polite. He left them both behind confused and uncertain exactly what they'd done. Ryan suspected but he didn't want to embarrass his fellow Alpha any more than he probably already felt.

 

“Ready to go?”

 

Ray couldn't look away from his friend's retreating form. “Sure, man, let's go.”

 

o0o

 

Gavin barely stepped out of the restroom before Dan practically tackled him. He _oofed_ and got his shoulders taken in two desperate hands. Dan looked a little green around the gills and it made him whine. “I need to get drunk and _now_ , B.”

 

“Wanna go home and muck around with some bevs?” Gavin offered tentatively.

 

“Yes. Can you leave now?”

 

“Let me ask Geoff...”

 

“Alright, B, just hurry up, yeah?”

 

o0o

 

Ray ended up going with Ryan to a nearby place known for it's handmade milkshakes, sea salt fries, and big booths. Jack, Lindsay, Monty, and even Barbara showed up. It wasn't too busy as they filed in and it wasn't long before they got their food. Ryan had pulled his boyfriend to the back of the booth so they were surrounded by their friends. An arm was draped behind Ray and he loved how safe it made him feel safe, like the man was already his Alpha. He happily enjoyed his meal and didn't realize that the others were thinking how good he looked practically _glowing_ under Ryan's attention.

 

“I have to ask, now that you're an Omega,” Lindsay pestered, teeth clamped on her straw. “What do you think of Dan?”

 

“He smells so good,” Monty mused before Ray could answer, fork swirling on his empty plate (he always was the fast eater). “Like Gavin but different.”

 

“Might just be an England thing,” Barbara added, “I'm a sucker for those 'weather' scents. Gavin's like getting hit over the head with a tampon commercial but Dan's like those s’mores commercials where the guys plays guitar on a beach and everyone's super happy? Like that. Like being outside and doing summer things.”

 

While Lindsay (and even Jack) agreed, Ryan mused over how perfect Dan's scent was. Barb was right, it was like being out in the sun and enjoying all those summertime actives you saw in movies. Bonfires and carnivals and the smell of sun-baked sand slipping through your fingers. He was a gorgeous kid too. The military had trimmed away all the baby-fat he'd had when Ryan officially met him and even back then Dan had been kind of an eager pup. He was always ready to please and he used to catch him looking his way a lot. Dan had felt so good in his arms in the airport, and what a mind he had inside that pretty head. Dark hair and wit, big smile and humor – Ryan really did have a type, it seemed.

 

On the outside he made a little content sound escape, a brief purr.

 

“What was that?” Ray asked, nudging him.

 

“Hm?” Ryan feigned nonchalance. “Nothing.”

 

Ray gave him the eye as he took a sip of Coke but just jumped back into the conversation. “My nose is dialed to eleven or something since presenting. Is that normal?”

 

The others nodded but it was Jack who spoke up. “Betas don't have as strong of a nose as you guys do but I can still remember getting a lot of headaches the week after I presented. Everything was suddenly so _strong_. It can be overwhelming but you're doing great for someone who presented so late.”

 

“You know who smells good lately?” Monty put out with a small, mischievous grin. “Geoff. He's so happy, it's attractive. He smells like Michael and Gav all the time. I love it. He tried to ruffle my hair the other day and I _let him_ just to catch a whiff.”

 

“And Joel too,” Lindsay hummed dreamily.

 

“Joel?” Jack questioned.

 

“Yeah, him and Burnie have been getting pretty close lately,” Barbara pointed out. “I've been catching them scenting and a couple of the upstairs-people claim to have seen more. Kerry said something about tearing out his own eyes. I'd pay to see that.”

 

Lindsay and Monty nodded eagerly. Ryan shrugged when his opinion was asked seeing as he had sort of marked Joel in their fight. Joel was his friend and he enjoyed his scent, his company, but Burnie's tasteless actions left a bitter taste in his mouth.

 

“I think you're all crazy and I love my wife,” Jack states, getting a good laugh from the others.

 

Ryan scooted closer and ran his nose through the boy's dark hair. “Can I have a piece?”

 

Ray chuckled as he saw the way the Alpha was eyeing his plate. “Fuck you, man, you had some.”

 

“Mine are gone,” Ryan whined playfully, pouting. “Just one?”

 

To Ray it felt like a loaded question coupled with that tone and what happened earlier with Dan. _Sharing food. I really should look that shit up_. It felt like sharing resources, real cave man stuff. But this was Ryan and he loved indulging in the instincts of old dynamics. He nodded and held out a fry. Surprisingly, Ryan ate it straight from his fingers, swallowing it quick before licking the salt from his skin. It was over before he could blink but it made his breath hitch. There was a long moment of silence at the table but Ray was too lost in the other's loving gaze to notice. Chatter and laughter resumed around them and the moment faded.

 

Ryan ducked his head and nosed at the Omega's neck. He tensed before he nuzzled harder, inhaling deeper. He could smell Dan lingering on his boy's skin and he found himself enjoying it more than he should.

 

o0o

 

Dan and Gavin started drinking around one. They filmed a Slow-Mo Guys vid in the backyard, argued about editing, devoured every bit of instant food they could find in Geoff's kitchen, and then nested on the couch for some heavy video gaming. Michael and Geoff came home late and after a couple of brief kisses with their young Omega they hit the hay.

  
Beer bottles piled up around their feet and on the side tables. They switched out games but it always came back to _Halo_ where they'd forged their friendship. They tried to outdo each other but the Omega trounced him at every turn.

 

“You're just too good,” Dan announced around midnight, finishing off his beer.

 

“Want to switch to _Titanfall_?”

 

“ 'Course. Pop it in.”

 

While they were waiting for the game to load up properly, Dan started kissing his friend's neck. Gavin giggled, cheeks ruddy from too much beer, and tilted his head a little to welcome it. The touches were soft at first, innocent, and they lead to a bit of scenting. Gavin's eyes fluttered closed and he let himself enjoy it but went stock still when his friend's mouth grew bold. The first taste of Dan's lips made him sigh and go fluid, opening his mouth willingly for the tongue that traced the seam. It tasted like _home_ , like being in the fresh air and recording videos and rolling around in his own bed.

 

_Planes and valleys of pale, inked skin. Cherry scented curls. Alpha._

 

Gavin frowned and pushed him away.

 

“No, Dan.” He made sure to keep his voice firm despite the little tingles of pleasure still in his lips. “I have two mates I love so very fucking much and who are sleeping in our bed trusting me out here with you. You and Michael are just now getting along and Geoff's starting to think of you as a son – you want to bollocks it all up? I've got a family here, B, and I want to share that with you.” Gavin saw the misery swamp his friend's face and he cupped his cheek, foreheads pressed together. “But we can't do this. Not anymore.”

 

“I love you so much,” Dan admitted, voice strained. “And I'm fucking it all up. I'm ruining it.” Gavin promised he wasn't in a low coo, petting through dark hair in an attempt to soothe him. “Ryan and Ray...”

 

“Oh B,” Gavin sniffled, eyes wet. He found himself emotional with all the booze and his friend's sobs in his ears. “I wanted to tell you but you were so happy being around them. I didn't want to see this happen.”

 

Dan scrubbed his hands over his face and braced his elbows on his knees, fighting to get himself together. “They're so lovely together. And they won't want me like Geoff and Michael wanted you.”

  
The Omega drew back, shocked. “B, I...what we have...it was special circumstances and what-not. It took a lot of time and we hurt each other trying to figure it out. Ray and Rye really love each other, mate. They're committed. Ryan's old-fashioned. It was months before he even kissed Ray. They haven't gone all the way or anything, maybe not even halfway. I don't-” He bit his lip. “I don't think they'd take someone else in.”

 

The shock of the cold truth broke Dan's heart and he got to his feet to try and shake off the pain. He didn't exactly pace but it was close, nervous energy making him move his feet or shake apart.

 

“I didn't think you'd be the kind of bloke to share,” Gavin started, questions bubbling up in his throat. “Hell, I didn't know you were into Alphas. I thought you only liked Omegas, B. Is it just Ray or do you like Ryan that much too?”

 

“You think I fucking know?” Dan snapped tearfully. “You think I know what I want? Not that it fucking matters because they already have each other and they're happy and I'm just some bloody home wrecking prat who should've stayed where he belonged-”

 

“You belong here.”

 

Both Brits quieted down and looked to the mouth of the hallway. Geoff stood there in just his sweats, arms crossed over his bare chest. He looked sleepy but firm in his words. “You woke up Michael and he was worried.”

 

Dan felt a hot rush of shame and dropped his head, rubbing his arm and playing with his sleeve nervously. Not only had he kissed the man's mate but he disturbed his other one. What a house guest he was. “I'm sorry, Geoff...I was just...I'll go to bed.”

 

He tried to walk past the older Alpha without meeting his eyes but a solid hand clamped down on his shoulder. He flinched and a small, nearly inaudible whine passed his lips. A sour mix of fear and guilt churned in his belly and he prayed he didn't toss his stomach all over the carpet. “I won't do it again.”

 

“I know. Come here, kid,” Geoff dragged him into a hug, rubbing his wide palms all over the younger Alpha's shoulders. Dan shuddered and a tear finally trickled down his cheek. He didn't return the gesture but he laid his forehead on the man's shoulder and soaked up the heat from his bare skin.

 

“It's tough being an Alpha pup,” Geoff hummed in his ear. The comforting sound dried up his eyes. “I remember what it was like. You're just confused and overwhelmed and really drunk huh?” Dan nodded, tattooed skin so soft against his jaw. “Why don't you stay in the guest room? Give yourself a night away from Gavin's scent to think about everything. I'll get you something to help you sleep through the night.”

 

Dan nodded again. He was grateful as the Alpha put a hand on the dip of his back and led him to the guest room. It was down the hall and the door was already open. Geoff urged him to crawl into bed and he obeyed, body feeling twice its weight as he plopped down. He sighed hard into the pillow as a blanket was pulled up over him. He was left alone for minute or two. When Geoff returned he had a water bottle from the fridge and two pale pink tablets.

 

The older Alpha sat down on the bed. “Open.”

 

Dan thought of protesting that he could do it himself but he was so _tired_. He opened his mouth and warm, inked fingers slid over his bottom lip and placed the tablets on his tongue.

 

“Let them dissolve. They're grainy but they'll do the trick.”

 

Dan plumped the pillow under his head and breathed in Geoff's scent. It had a warm element like Ryan's did but there was fresh citrus there instead of buttery bread and old stone and baked spice. The Pack Alpha waited patiently and rubbed his shoulder through the blanket. There was strength hidden in those fingers.

 

“Done?”

 

“Yeah,” Dan replied softly.

 

“Drink.”

 

The nozzle of the bottle was put to his lips and he sucked a few noisy swallows out of it. It washed through him, cool and refreshing, and after he was full his head dropped onto the pillow once more. He expected Geoff to leave but he continued to sit quietly and lightly massage him, grounding him like he was an Omega. Dan's eyes started to droop, lids heavy, and his chest grew light. The whole thing should've been weird but he craved the comfort the man radiated.

 

Dan fell asleep to Geoff carding fingers through his hair and scratching lightly behind his ear.

 

o0o0o0o

 

“You smell like Dan.”

 

Ryan's cozy murmur in the booth with their friends had stuck to Ray's ribs worse than the milkshake had. He mulled it over for two days while things got back to normal. Dan was the same with him as ever and Ryan stopped going around in a huff but the two of them never seemed to interact for long. Ray knew he'd fucked up by selfishly keeping his relationship a sorta-not-secret from Dan but he hadn't expected his boyfriend to be so upset by that.

 

He and Michael had been friends for years now, before the Omega had gotten him a job at Rooster Teeth and long before he met Ryan. They were tight, Team Better Friends, and he knew a ride or a couch or just a friend was always a text away. So he went home with him in the guise of hanging out and he brought it up while they were fooling around on _Titanfall_. He wanted to know what scenting meant to Alphas in the terms of territory and Michael had dealt with his fair share of knotheads.

 

“I'm not a fucking textbook,” Michael muttered angrily, thinking the question over before he answered. “Scenting with another Alpha while being courted by an old-fashioned Alpha like Ryan is really just asking for it.”

 

“Dan and I aren't like that,” Ray insisted.

 

“Shut up. Who are you trying to convince?”

 

Ray fiddled with his controller during the loading screen. “Ryan's not going to hurt me.”

 

“Oh, he won't hurt you, dude,” Michael assured, tongue darting out between his lips as he opened fire on two crouched guys in one of the rooms. “He'll jump you in the gay way.”

 

Ray ignored the game all together and stared at one of his best friends. “You think?”

 

“I _know_. Pay attention, asshole.”

 

o0o0o0o

 

Ray didn't want to be sneaky or underhanded but it was something he was dying to try. He'd been looking for a way to accelerate his physical relationship with Ryan and maybe some jealousy would drive it in that direction. He felt a little sick when he thought of how his boyfriend had finally gotten out of his rut and how that rut was probably brought on by him spending all his time with the Lads and Dan. He'd never meant to make Ryan upset, he couldn't have known how much his actions could ruffle the usually calm man's feathers. _I’m an ass, what else is new?_

 

Ray went back and forth on the issue, changing his plan up a dozen times, but in the end he decided it was worth whatever happened. Ryan would forgive him no matter and he'd keep it innocent with Dan. He was smart enough to realize he'd kind of led the young Alpha on and he would apologize later for it. Neither of the Alphas deserved to be led around by the collar but just one more time – one more moment of weakness. And then never again because it was wrong to play them off each other, consciously or not.

 

Dan texted him and asked him if he wanted to do something before he shot a Slow-Mo Guys vid with Gavin later in the evening. Ray agreed and invited him over for some first person shooter games and pizza. The Alpha showed up quickly and he looked _good_ , hair artfully ruffled and t-shirt tight across his chest. Ray tried not to stare but his eyes dropped down to the Alpha's shorts and how they showed off the muscular curve of his calves.

 

Between them they devoured almost an entire large pizza with as many toppings as they could put on it without legally calling it a pie. Dan wasn't surprised to only find soda in his fridge and decided he didn't mind the sugar buzz it gave him. They fooled around on COD and quickly fell into a serious match. It was a fierce three rounds and Dan surprisingly kept up, Alpha instincts driving him to show off. In the end, Ray won by just a few kills and whooped in excitement. Running on adrenaline, he jumped into Dan's lap and brushed their noses. They both smiled at one another and the Omega pushed for more, nosing at the other's dark hair while a scratchy cheek brushed his own.

 

“Ray,” Dan sighed happily.

 

“Dan,” he replied in the same pleased tone, dipping his head down to scent at the Alpha's neck.

 

“Shit,” the Alpha cursed as he froze. “Ray, wait, we...we really shouldn't. I-I don't have Ryan's permission or anything.”

 

“He's my boyfriend, not my Alpha,” Ray reminded him, just barely skimming his nose along the tanned neck. Ryan had shown him how to scent and he planned to use those skills for this. “I want to scent with you, Dan. You're my friend and you smell good.”

 

And he _did_. Powdered sugar and sea salt and everything he missed during those summer breaks when he spent months inside instead of out experiencing his 'best years' or whatever. Whatever plan he had was thrown out the window and he wondered why he hadn't done this earlier. Dan was so warm underneath him and he fit well in his lap. The Alpha's arms wrapped around his waist and he made one of those Omega chitters that was still kind of foreign on his tongue but sounded so right coming out of Gavin's mouth. There was an Alpha musk under all that beach-boy scent and it made him smile almost drowsily.

 

Ray hummed when Dan started nosing at his neck, hesitantly at first but then with a confidence that reminded him of Ryan. He hugged around the Alpha’s shoulders and they indulged in some nuzzling, rubbing each other’s scents into matching dark hair. Ray was the first to place a dry kiss on the offered throat and they both sighed, the touch returned so gently that it made the Omega’s heart tremble. Dan’s lips were soft and respectful as they skimmed his pulse, under his jaw, the very hint of tongue leaving cooling trails across his skin.

 

Ryan had always told him he was quick to get “scent drunk” and the experience made him a little loopy, out of touch. It took him a few minute to realize they were slowly moving together. It wasn’t quite a grind but it felt good. Neither of them were hard but the press and slide of clothing left them tingling and releasing pleased little sounds into each other’s ears. Fingers never strayed under clothing but they did wrinkle it up with hard drags and quick grasps of material when particularly sensitive spots were brushed.

 

It was satisfying, better than Ray would’ve ever expected. His brain was fuzzy with that packed-cotton feeling that came with breathing in an Alpha for so long. He felt nice and safe in Dan’s lap but there was something missing. It was close to the bliss he got from scenting with Ryan – _close_ , but not quite there. He let his mind wander and the image of his boyfriend watching made him gasp against Dan’s neck. Ryan’s hands on his hips, guiding him into a deeper grind, telling him just how to move. The older Alpha’s warm fingers threading through their hair, petting and encouraging them with rough purring.

  
Dan started whispering an inquiry of the time, voice so low it was almost a husk. They slowed down but couldn’t manage to stop. Ray kept his face greedily buried in the crook of the Alpha’s neck and shuddered with the urge to dig his little Omega canines into the scent gland under Dan's neck that was screaming his name. Ryan had reacted so well when he'd bit it. He could still remember how the scent had almost tangibly flooded his tongue, how buzzed he got from it...how hot Ryan's groan had sounded. Would Dan react the same way?

 

He imagined Ryan watching him do it, encouraging him, and his stomach twisted up so hard in excitement it was almost painful.

 

“I have to go, love,” Dan agonized as he tried to pry the Omega off his lap. Ray clamped his thighs down tightly and buried his fingers deep into the other's hair. The affectionate term didn't help things. “Please, Ray, Gav's expecting me. We've gotta' do a shoot while I'm here. And if I don't go now-”

 

“What?” Ray demanded, sitting back only enough to brush their noses. It was a gesture he often did with Ryan while they scented. He should've been guilt ridden by the intimacy of it but it felt so _right_ and he nearly kissed Dan then and there. It would be so easy to chastely brush their lips and feel the little spark he knew wanted to ignite between them. But that was cheating and wrong so he pushed down that urge.

  
He didn't goad the Alpha any longer and shimmied out of his lap, teasing him about being late and getting scolded by their spastic Omega friend. Dan was flushed but smiled brighter than ever as he left with a new lightness in his step. Ray waited a few minutes before opening the few windows in his apartment and spraying Febreeze on the couch. He debated taking a shower but he felt too lazy and warm and chose to just change his clothes instead. He vaguely remembered his plan past all the Omega hormones swirling in his system. All he knew was that he wanted to spend time with his Alpha and get some sweet kisses and licks from that talented mouth.

 

_Come play Xbox with me, Rye._

 

The text is short and sweet and worked like magic with how fast Ryan showed up. The Alpha claimed he had very little else to do this evening and had been ready to ask the other if he wanted to hang out. It felt like his playdate with Dan – sitting side by side, rubbing shoulders and thighs, Alpha musk tickling his nose. But it was _Ryan_ so it was so much warmer and familiar and all-consuming. Ray still felt buzzed from his session with Dan and was riding a new high that distracted him from the game. Ryan kicked his ass and won the round but he could only simper and congratulate his boyfriend. The older man's laughter died down when the Omega leaned in and rubbed his nose playfully in blonde hair.

 

There was an almost audible _snap_ of tension in the air. Ray felt it before anything happened and he drew back, whispering the other's name in a question that was quickly answered through action. Ryan was lightning quick as he clamped a hand on the Omega's shoulder and shoved him down onto his back. The older man covered him and radiated pure heat as he forced his way between his thighs. Ray whined and hiked his legs up around his hips in welcome. Ryan nuzzled into his neck, inhaling deeply and breathing out a growl. The flood of the Alpha's scent filled his nose and he couldn't stop his hips from rutting into the man's stomach, a faint slickness rubbing between his cheeks. The bastard got him wet so embarrassingly fast with just a little roughness and he half-covered his reddened face.

 

“Fucking Dan,” Ryan rumbled, fisting his hand in the Omega's hair to yank his head back and expose his throat. He dragged his tongue over the soft skin and dug his teeth up under the boy's jaw, tasting the first swell of his sensitive gland. “I can smell him all over you. You let another Alpha scent you like this. I should bend you over my knee, you little-”

 

Ryan drew back like he'd been burned. Ray whined and pawed for him to come back but the Alpha was shaking his head, blinking rapidly to clear the sudden fog of hormones.

 

“You can scent with whoever you want,” Ryan forced himself to say, the jealousy and arousal like a slow-honey trickle through his body. “I'm sorry, I-”

 

Ray grabbed a fistful of his boyfriend's shirt and sat up with only the support of one arm, legs still hugging tight to the man's waist. He glared up at him with a fierceness the other couldn't remember seeing before. “Don't you dare stop.”

 

Ryan gaped at the boy. “What?”

 

“You want to be my Alpha, right?” Ray murmured, hand fanning across the man's chest before trailing down to lay across the growing bulge in his jeans, knuckles teasing his inner thigh. “Shouldn't you show me that I can be yours?” He lowered his eyes in what he hoped was a demure fashion, biting the swell of his lip with devious intent. He could feel the Alpha watching his every move and he savored the attention. “Don't you want Dan to know how _close_ we are? Aren't you proud of me, Rye?”

 

Ryan's lip drew back in a snarl and another wave of heat wracked the Omega's body, cock hard and straining against his zipper while a fat drop of slick stained his underwear. The Alpha's knees braced hard on the couch and forced his legs apart, opening him up. Ray's mouth was stolen in another kiss as his shirt was roughly rucked up. He moaned into Ryan's demanding mouth as those big, calloused hands splayed over his stomach and dragged over his skin in a way that lit him on fire. They traced each ribs and smoothed over his sides. Ray opened his mouth wide and was plundered, the Alpha’s tongue curling across his, searching as if he would find a taste of Dan behind his teeth. His lashes fluttered wildly when thumbs rubbed firmly over his nipples and made them peak almost as if on command. The feeling was – _oh_ – it was so much more than before. Now Ryan toyed with them with the edge of his nail and _pressed_ and soon they were more tender than before. He hadn’t known how truly sensitive they were until one rub of his thumb, one nibble at his lip, and he was grinding his covered cock against the Alpha’s firm stomach like he had no shame.

 

Ryan moved back to admire him, voice like ground gravel. “Look at that swollen little mouth.”

 

Ray wasn’t sure how many shades of red he could turn but he could barely look his Alpha in the face as he ran his eyes over him with such _appraisal_. His glasses were gently plucked off his face and he got a small kiss when he tried to protest.

 

“You’re so pretty like this,” Ryan’s smirk made butterflies explode a little lower than his stomach. “I should keep you under me more often.”

 

“God damn it, Rye.” Ray gasped when the man’s palm slid under his chin and tilted his head back with such tame force that he obeyed without question. Ryan started licking and nipping at his neck, beginning low at a creep that quickly grew into a _hungry_ pace. The Omega couldn’t catch his breath as his throat was devoured with all that intensity that his boyfriend kept mostly bottled up during the day. Between moans and rough whispers of Ryan’s name, Ray realized the Alpha was licking the scent of Dan off his neck and replacing it with his own.

 

“That’s my good boy.” He felt the words hummed just under his jaw before a hot lick made his rational thought fizzle out. “I’ll give you everything you need. All you have to do is lay there and let me have you.”

 

The words hit him right in the gut and he chittered nervously as more slick escaped his twitching hole. His lust-fueled mind flickered through half-formed fantasies and vague dreams of Ryan between his thighs, sucking him down to the hilt, the Alpha’s cock gleaming with his own slick before burying deep inside him. He’d wanted it before but now he was fucking drooling for it. His boyfriend’s hand rubbed over the seat of his pants and he thought he was getting teased until he felt the button of his fly give way. His zipper followed and he felt his breath punch out of him. _This is really happening._

 

“Did you let Dan do this?”

 

“N-no, God damn it, you know I wouldn't,” Ray fumbled, shaking his head even as he clawed lightly at the Alpha’s shoulders. “Please, Ryan.”

 

“Adorable,” Ryan breathed, fingertips dancing along the rough edges of the zipper. “Please _what_?”

 

Ray moaned helplessly and clamped his small, Omega canines on the back of his hand to muffle the sound. Ryan hooked his fingers around the boy’s hand and ripped it away with a wet gasp of the Alpha’s name.

 

“Let me show you what I can do for you.” Ray felt Ryan’s hand dip inside his pants, past his underwear, slicking his palm and fingers with the steady drippings of pre-cum that leaked from the tip of his smooth, Omega cock. “You’ll never want another Alpha.”

 

“I don’t,” Ray swore on the hitch of another fervid moan as the man’s fingers _finally_ closed around him and gave him one, smooth pump. “Just you, Rye, always you.”

 

The long awaited contact was like pure electricity that sent his hips humping into the air and his head shooting back so hard it stung his neck. He pushed at his shorts and the clinging band of his boxers in a haphazard attempt for more but couldn’t get them down more than mid-thigh before Ryan really started to work his hard flesh. He tried to tell himself it was just a handjob and that he needed to calm down, to stop being such a virgin, but he was instantly addicted and he wasn’t sure how he was supposed to walk around _without_ his boyfriend’s hand around his dick.

 

Ryan’s gaze seared him and every stroke was confidant, thumb teasing hard at the underside of his cock after he jolted from the accidental brush. It was exploratory at first but the Alpha was a quick learner and soon enough Ray couldn’t do more but writhe around on the couch with a gaping mouth as he struggled to suck in enough air to keep his vision from going blurry. Every breath made the arousal swell higher and he was getting too excited too quickly and he _really_ didn’t want it to be over yet.

 

Ryan didn’t give him much of a choice. The Alpha’s teeth descended before he could beg him to stop, to wait. The canines bit hard at the swell of his throat, going deep enough to leave a red-speckled bruise that would show up later. The sensation was sharp and _deep_ and nothing he expected. Ray bucked against the man’s bigger form, fucking into his hand, the build of pressure in his groin collapsing in on himself as _too much_ washed over him. The orgasm was ripped from him with only a few strokes. It was horrifyingly humiliating how little it took to make him come but he damn near _screamed_ the Alpha’s name as he did. He dug his fingers into Ryan’s shirt as he rode out the intense peak before he whimpered and melted into the couch.

 

Ray’s voice was robbed from him and he could only mouth ‘ _Alpha_ ’ as the other slowly released his throat and laved over it to soothe the sting. There was something unstable and shaky and _Omega_ inside his chest but he trusted Ryan to keep him from shivering to pieces. A hand settled on the nape of his neck, thumb stroking the skin, and he slowly calmed, burrowing himself in the warmth of post-orgasm and his boyfriend’s body heat. He slung an arm over his eyes to hide his red cheeks and wrecked expression from the surely smug stare he was receiving. A weak groan spilled out of him as a thumb rubbed over his sensitive cock.

 

“Don’t stare at it,” Ray tried to joke.

 

“From the day we met, I imagined how good you would look after I made you come.” There was a deep inhale. “And your slick…God, Ray, I could drink from you all day. I can’t wait to taste it.”

 

“Jesus,” Ray whimpered, chewing hard on his lip and pressing his arm tighter over his eyes. Fingers traced his soft dick before rubbing the base, making him keen. “Rye!”

 

“How did you not know what your status would be?” There was a teasing, amorous note in the Gent’s voice now. “With such a smooth, little Omega cock like this…it’s going to fit nicely in my mouth. It laid so well in my hand already.”

 

“Fuck! D-Don’t say stuff like that, Ryan. I already shot like a fucking teenager. Don’t make me do it again.” Ray gave a small, near-hysterical laugh as his dick pulsed warmly under the scrutiny. He should’ve hated it, should’ve been angry at the poke at his below-average size, but the wave of pure _want_ that flowed through him told otherwise. He never thought he’d be one to get off on stuff like this but Ryan was weaving a damn good spell over him. One he wouldn’t mind falling into.

 

A wet sound caught his ears and he couldn’t resist moving his arm to look at his boyfriend. He gaped dumbly when he saw Ryan staring at his own cum-covered fingers with a half-lidded bedroom gaze. The Gent’s tongue curled deftly around his fingertips, dark eyes falling closed as he moaned at the taste. Ray panted lightly as he watched the man slowly suck two fingers between his lips. The cum beaded around the Alpha’s lips and made them shine in a way that had the other squirming around between his legs like he could get off again. Ray could barely tear his eyes away when that skillful tongue started lapping at his palm to chase the taste, but when he did he saw a pair of blue eyes narrowed into slits and watching him. There was a sizable bulge in the Alpha’s jeans and he wanted to rut against it, lick the material until it was soaked and he could taste him through it, maybe grind his wet hole on it until the man gave in and fucked him until they were both satisfied.

 

He had never felt so Omega or so much like prey in his entire life. And he _loved_ it.

 

The Alpha hissed through his teeth as he adjusted himself in the tight denim, muttering about 'no room' and leaving shining trails of slick behind.

 

“Ryan.” He swallowed thickly to ease the roughness out of his voice. “Do you want me to…?”

 

“No, Omega, that was just for you.” Ryan’s eyes went wide as he realized what he said, damp palm dropping to the couch as concern scratched hard lines all over his face. “I shouldn’t have jumped you like that. God, Ray, that was so – that was rude.” The Alpha frowned to himself as he covered his boyfriend’s modesty with careful fingers, even doing his zipper back up. “You can scent with whoever you want. Dan is your friend, he’s _my_ friend. I smelled him on you and I just lost it there for a second.” He could tell Ryan was nervous as he flubbed a few words like he did when he got worked up on camera.

 

Ray sat up and wrapped his arms around Ryan’s neck, thighs still hugging his waist like he would leave if he let go. “But you’re my Alpha.”

 

“I…” Ryan trailed off, breathless from the boy’s words.

 

“If you want to be,” Ray rushed to add in fear that he was asking too much.

 

“My Omega,” Ryan said the words like a prayer as he picked the boy up by the back of his thighs and pressed them close. He let out a stuttered breath and Ray shuddered at the sincerity, the passion, poured into those two words. “Holy shit, my _Omega_.”

 

Ray smothered an uncharacteristic giggle as the older man moved to properly sit him on his lap. He kept his arms curled around those broad shoulders and they latched at the mouth, a soft Omega purr meeting a content Alpha hum. The taste of Ray passed between their tongues but they didn't mind. They kissed lazily as hands stroked over arms and through hair, lips reddened and slick as they just enjoyed the simple contact. A palm laid over Ray's heart and he realized his shirt was still rucked up and his nips were dragging over the Alpha's shirt.

 

“You made them sore,” Ray griped, purposefully rubbing them over the scratchy material to feel the little _zing_ of pleasure across his skin.

 

“Poor Omega boy,” Ryan teased as he rubbed their noses. “I should kiss it better.”

 

“Mmm,” he whined softly with a impish grin. “But I want your mouth right... _here_.”

 

He dared to kiss the Alpha – _his_ Alpha – hard enough to push the man's head into the couch. He got a fist full of light hair and coaxed Ryan's lips open so _he_ could explore the flat of his molars and the sharp little points of his canines. They were bigger than his own, not monstrous but noticeable, and he wanted to feel them in his neck and grazing his cock.

 

The heat cooled to a simmer and soon the broke down into little pecks and some cheek rubbing that left a slight beard burn over the boy's smooth jaw.

 

“Alpha,” Ray sighed hotly over tender lips, fingertips skimming the other's handsome face. The hands on his hips tightened briefly before splaying over his bare back, holding him as close as they could be.

 

“My Omega.”

 

Ray's eyes stung as something swelled and bubbled up in his chest. The heavy weight of nearly two years worth of pining lifted from his shoulders and it was like breaking through the water's surface, his next breath so welcoming he nearly choked.

 

“I've waited a long time to hear that,” Ray admitted in a small voice.

 

“I'll say it every day,” Ryan promised sweetly, bussing more kisses across his brow and down to his cheeks and jaw. “I'll whisper it into your skin at night and I'll tell everyone who looks at you. I'll be your Alpha in every sense for as long as you'll keep me.”

 

He saw a vulnerability in the Alpha's eyes that he knew was reflected in his own. How long had they been dancing around each other? How many nights had they spent alone in their beds thinking about one another? So much wasted time and energy, so many moments where they were alone and they could've been doing _this_ instead of blushing and looking away when things got awkward. He'd been so limited last year while looking at Ryan, so bound by his own anxiety, that he couldn't see the way the Alpha was looking right back at him.

 

Ray brushed their lips so slowly that Ryan made a sound like it hurt.

 

“It's all I want.”

 

* * *

  

**Hope you enjoyed all that. Come tell me on[tumblr](http://emono-omae.tumblr.com/) or drop a comment if you liked it because you guys know I'm a feedback whore by now.**  
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	67. Geoff, Michael, and Gavin VIII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Geoff eats Gavin out for the first time and Michael gets jealous, but not really.

**I'm not particularly proud of the level of writing in this one but I'm following past!Emono's outline. Here's some rimming because why not?**

**Also -[here's](http://emono-omae.tumblr.com/post/99261946051/timeline-for-id-like-it-better-if-i-could-win-at-it) where it fits in the storyline. Titled under "Gavin gets the rimming of his life", which I think is appropriate**

 

* * *

 

 

Gavin should've known better to mess with Geoff while he was drunk. They were mucking around in Minecraft to try and brainstorm ideas, downing beers like nothing. He teased the Alpha about everything he could think of – his gaming skills, his pierced dick, even joking about how he needed two live in houseboys just to get it up. It was the usual banter but it was the first time he'd really gone after him after getting together. After Geoff fumbled his words too many times from not paying attention the Brit made a remark about having a “lazy tongue” and that was the last straw. Gavin squawked and threw his controller as the Alpha chased after him. They made a loop around the living room and into the kitchen, lithe body dodging every grasp of tattooed fingers. He managed to keep just out of reach until he tripped up on one of Michael's sneakers.

 

“Bollocks!” Gavin yelped as he staggered and flailed his arms before he caught himself on one of the comfy chairs. He was relieved for a second and then surprise shocked his system as the Alpha grabbed him by the back of the shirt and threw him over the arm of the same chair. The hand didn't leave and it forced him to bend over, elbows hitting the cushion. “Geoff?”

 

“Stay down, _Omega_.”

 

Gavin's mouth dropped open at the order and his dick twitched hard in his boxers. Heat filled his chest as Geoff reached out and ripped open the fly of his shorts, fingers hooking in both waist bands before yanking them down. The cold hair hit his lightly furred thighs made his ass clench in pure reflex. That tone always got to him and the other knew it. He thought he was going to get a swat on the bare bottom like a child or maybe a punishment bite but it seemed his friend had something else in store. Warm palms cupped his cheeks and parted them to expose his dry hole.

 

“Geoff!” Gavin yipped, wanting so desperately to get up and push the man away but his arms were locked from the Alpha’s order. He didn’t want to get fucked, not like this, not while they were both drunk and Michael wasn’t here. It felt like cheating on his boy. He got a sharp pinch on the thigh when he tried to close his legs and it made him whine. “I-I don’t want to, Geoff.”

 

“Stop being such a baby, you’re going to love it,” Geoff promised. He saw the older man drop to his knees and was instantly puzzled. “Thirty seconds. If you don’t like it after thirty seconds, I’ll fucking stop and we’ll never do it again. But I’ve been thinking about this for years and God damn if I’m not going to make you scream.”

 

A cold bolt of panic went through the Omega’s chest but it melted along with his brain as the man’s tongue ran flat over his hole. He jumped at first but the hot, slick muscle wouldn’t give him reprieve and it lapped more instantly over the furl until he quieted down. Gavin’s mouth fell open and his brows pinched up as everything clicked and the word _rimming_ curled through his head like smoke. Dan had done this to him early on in their relationship where they were both unsure if they wanted to knot. It had been pretty damn good but it wasn’t hard to see that this was different – better.

 

Geoff showed no hesitation and he seemed to know exactly what he was doing down there. The sensation was just _wet_ and _hot_ at first but as he got used to it the friction made his groin tighten up in the best way. The Alpha’s tongue teased his rim, flicking at the edges to make it twitch, circling slowly as the muscle started to open up. Inked fingers teased up and down his inner thighs, scratching over his ass to leave red lines, constantly moving and keeping him guessing. And Geoff’s damn _moaning_. The bastard was loving it, enjoying thoroughly what he’d been hinting at for months. There was always “eating out” jokes in the office and Gavin knew the Alpha liked to lick Michael’s slick up from the source, but being the focus of that desire was enough to make his legs weak.

 

Gavin whimpered as his knees finally gave out and he slumped fully on the arm of the chair, grinding his long cock against the textured material. He was hard the moment his Alpha made such a happy noise against his hole. He rutted slowly, just relishing the way his smooth dick got trapped between his body and the chair. He was happy to be uncut as the extra skin let him drag all over without having to worry about a burning rash later on.

 

“That’s it, Gavvers, ride it,” Geoff breathed against his hole, eyes blown out as he spread out the boy’s cheeks again. “You gonna get wet for me, baby boy? Or are you gonna’ make me work for it?”

 

Gavin tried to grunt something out but he choked when the man’s hand slid down and cupped his scarred sac. He whined and tried to close his legs again but stopped as a tender kiss was pressed to his hole. “None of that, Gav. You’re fucking gorgeous.”

 

The Omega’s throat swelled shut and he rested his forehead against the cushion, silently thanking anyone who was listening for giving him such a great boyfriend. Sure fingers massaged him, rolling the small sac with ease, thumb tucking against his premium before _pressing_. Gavin gasped loudly and ground his hips harder against the chair, the very tip of his cock starting to show from the uncut flesh.

 

“Holy fuck.” Geoff’s voice broke, tongue darting back over the Omega’s hole as the beard droplets of natural slick started to form. The taste burst through his mouth and he salivated for more. It was deep and dry like a wine but somehow it reminded him of eating orchids off the stem back when Griffon had the flowers growing in the backyard. It was nostalgic and hit all his sense memories like a bullet, shattering whatever stupid delusion he had about this being their last time doing this. Between Michael and his younger boy it was going to be damn impossible drink anything else. He eased his tongue into the loosening furl and lapped greedily, swirling around to collect more, ears buzzing with his Omega’s high pitched sounds of pleasure. Slick was chock-full of hormones that pushed a lot of Alpha buttons. It made warmth trickle through Geoff's body like a nice shot of dark liquor. Getting a heavy dose of hot, Omega slick was better at getting him drunk than a dozen beers. His heart was thumping and his blood was boiling and he felt _alive._

 

And it was his Gavvy, his proxy-turned-real Omega. He was all warm and squirming and making beautifully needy sounds that he would tease his boy about later.

 

The front door opened and Gavin whined, trying to straighten up and cover himself. Geoff impatiently batted his flailing hands away and laid his palms on the Omega's ass with a growl. Gavin whined obediently and slowly moved back into place to bare his entrance.

 

“What the fuck?” Michael snarled, throwing his bag against the wall so hard the plaster sounded like it would crack. His cheeks were all ruddy and there was a sneer on his plump lips but he couldn't stop staring at his boyfriends. “I wanted to do it first!”

 

“You snooze you lose,” Geoff snickered, thumbs tucking along his Omega's cheeks to tease the room.

 

Gavin made a small, soft sound of protest his cock was leaking all over the chair. He could smell his Alpha and his Omega now, his nose tuned in to metallic cherries and warm, sugary syrup. He was on display and with hi boy so close he couldn't help but spread his legs even further in a mix of instinct and the desire to tempt them both. He was embarrassed about being put on display but there was a dark part of himself that wanted to indulge in the dark, voyeuristic urge.

 

“This is bullshit.” Michael sounded rough. He peeked out of the chair and saw the older Lad standing beside Geoff, eyes resting on his exposed hole. “I called dibs.”

 

“Too bad, _Micoo_ ,” Geoff mocked.

 

Michael huffed as he watched the Alpha part their Omega's cheeks to give him a good view. His mouth wasn't sure whether to go dry or salivate at the sight. Gavin was starting to gape from all the loving attention from the older man's mouth, slick slowly welling and threatening to drip. His boy's hole was shining and wet and in this light it looked almost... _feminine_. Geoff's thick tongue slipped deep inside his boy and Michael thought he was going to cream his pants only half hard. The thrust of the strong, slick muscle made Gavin claw at the chair.

 

“Michael!” the Brit whined, bleary green eyes blinking up at him. He was so nicely bent over, presented, and Michael applauded his Alpha for a good show.

 

“Let's do a compromise,” Geoff panted once he managed to rip himself away from the panting Omega's rim. “You can see him gush when he busts.”

 

Michael wiped the pout of his face. “Alright.”

 

“Come here. I'll make him come, just for you.”

 

“What?” Gavin's lilt was thick, brows drawn. “I don't want to get off yet! Geoff, please, don't want it to be over yet. W-We just started.”

 

The babble stopped when Geoff hooked a finger inside the boy and rubbed hard right over his spot. Gavin jerked against the chair, eyes wide, but the easy slide of the second finger made him cry out. Sparks flew through his body and he shamelessly rocked himself onto his Alpha's fingers, grunts heightening in pitch with every grind. He was teetering on the edge when he realized Geoff was _milking_ him. He couldn't push it down.

 

“Look at him. He's sucking in my fingers.”  


The hot flush of shame was what pushed him over the edge. He started to go tight in his chest, his groin, and his balls. His hips bounced erratically against the chair to rub his dick fast and hard, his Alpha's fingers still crooked tight against his sweet spot, and then all that tension snapped. His nails scraped along the cushion and he moaned loudly into it, eyes screwing shut as he slowly rode out his orgasm. His cock dribbled all over the soft material but it was Geoff's touch, the little stabs of pleasure against his prostate, that made him leak slick. The smell of his potential mates made him so wet and he could feel himself seeping around those inked fingers. Thighs and hole twitched as the last tremors of his finish worked through him. He felt _soaked_. He took a few deep, shuddering breaths before he looked over his shoulder.

 

Michael and Geoff were staring, eyes dark and mouths gaping as they stared at the wetness Gavin could feel tickling the bottom of his rim and around his Alpha's fingers. He could see himself shining on Geoff's mouth. More slick bubbled around the digits and he let out an embarrassed whimper when they slid out and slick dripped down over his scarred sac. He was so horribly _open_ and his damn boyfriends were panting at him like hungry dogs.

 

A high sound like a squeal squeaked out of him when a blood-hot tongue ran over the delicate skin, following the trail up over the smooth flesh behind it, over his hole, effectively scooping up the slick like he was ravenous. There was a wet sound behind Gavin once the sensation ended and he _had_ to look. The two were kissing, his own natural slick glistening between their mouths. It was a messy, desperate exchange. Michael was so hard his shorts were tenting.

 

“You taste so fucking good, boy,” Michael swore, their Alpha kissing a glistening trail down his jaw to his neck. Gavin wanted to entice him, to offer to take care of that hard problem, but his muscles went liquid and he slid down to the floor. Geoff was quick to wrap an arm around him and eased him onto his lap, crooning lowly as he tucked a finger under the Omega's chin. Gavin let his head get tilted back for a soft, slow kiss that distracted him from Michael pulling up his underwear to cover up his modesty. With his boy rubbing over his legs and his Alpha snuggling into his back, Gavin let himself sink into the warmth of their bodies and the nice headspace that he'd fallen into.

 

Eventually his boyfriends were just nuzzling at each side of his throat, sighing damp patches on his skin that made it break out into goosebumps.

 

“Hungry, Gav?” Geoff asked after a few minutes when they had all calmed down. Michael's stomach growled on cue but he just buried his face into his boy's shirt, grumbling about not wanting to move.

 

Gavin nodded, nosing under the Alpha's jaw. “Yeah, but...in a minute?”

 

Geoff smiled fondly and hugged him closer, one hand on Michael's shoulder and the other trailing just under the Brit's shirt. “Yeah, in a minute.”

 

* * *

 

**Have you guys read this[amazing young writer](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Chooboozle/pseuds/Chooboozle)'s stuff? It's edgier stuff, it can satisfy that kink-thirst I know you have. And, on a personal note, she is one of my favorite people and she doesn't get enough recognition for all the heart she puts in her stories. So, have you met [Chooboozle](http://chooboozle.tumblr.com/)?**

 

 

 


	68. Ryan, Ray, and Dan IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryan admits to Ray he has certain feelings for Dan, and Ray is more okay with it than he could've hoped. One passionate night could ruin all three of them if they let it.
> 
> -
> 
> “I'd like to think I make my Omega rather breathless."  
> “Could you show me?”

**Here's something I haven't done in a long time - _THANKED YOU GUYS_.**

**This community has been painfully sweet to me and my weird style and all these kinky ideas and I just want to say thank you. Thank you for every lovely comment, every kudos, every message (YOU ARE NEVER BUGGING ME YOU SILLY PILES OF FLUFF), every gift, every drawing, and generally every time you think or talk about my fics. It is carrying me through my life more than you will ever know. And I'm sorry I don't reply to you guys right away. It's not that I'm insanely busy, I've just got a bit of the anxiety and sometimes I get paralyzed with media based messages and it's a whole specific thing and I apologize. Consider this chapter and it's length and all it's smut as a formal apology to all those I don't reply to and for how long I made you guys wait for more of this fic.**

**I am eternally grateful.**

**Side note here - if you're not happy with a Raydanwood pairing (and I know your concerns, trust me, I know and I sympathize), please give this chap and the next installment of this arc a chance. There's going to be lots of talk and no one's going to get their feelings hurt - Dan will leave soon, Ryan will prove he's Ray's Alpha through-and-through, and then we can move on to Ray's heat and some nice Raywood stuff again *brushes off hands* No mess, no hurt feelings.**

**Well...there will be drama. But that's just some delicious conflict. You don't mind that, we'll get to it later.**

 

* * *

 

 

Though Ray had spent the entire night curled up around his Alpha and soaking up his warmth, there was still a nagging fear in the back of his mind that his novelty had worn off now that Ryan had gotten a taste of him and seen everything he had to offer. But when the alarm went off the older man woke with a smile and had kissed his cheeks before scenting his neck, murmuring a tempting offer to call off and stay in bed. Ray had been ready to agree but his stomach growled and the Alpha was sent into a flurry of activity to get breakfast together before they left.

 

Ray snagged a quick shower before he dug through his closet and pulled out the zip jacket that belonged to Ryan, the one from his presenting. He put it over a fresh set of clothes with some neutral scented deodorant so he could breathe in the Alpha's scent for as long as it would last.

 

He followed his nose and found a plate of eggs and sausage waiting for him. He stood by the counter and dug in to fill his growling belly. Ryan rinsed out the pan he had used and wiped his wet hands on his sweats. His plate was abandoned so he could fit up behind the Omega and nuzzle at his nape. Ray kept eating but smiled around the fork. There was a dark bruise on the front of his throat. He'd seen it in the mirror, and Ryan's many apologies last night only made it sweeter. The Alpha had lamented over his surging, dominant instincts and how he would try to keep them under wraps in the future. He had assured his boyfriend that it was fine, he had asked for it, and he wouldn't have acted or said the things he had if he wasn't completely sure he wanted to be manhandled a bit.

 

“I have to ask,” Ryan started, mouth still making warm paths across the other's skin. “Did you scent with Dan for a devious purpose?”

 

“It's too early for you to be showing off that big brain,” Ray griped good naturedly, taking another bite of maple sausage. The sweetness would be a good buzz to take him through the morning.

 

“Were you trying to get a rise out of me?” the Alpha teased.

 

The truth felt like a pill stuck in his throat but it quickly went away when he remembered the promise to himself to be more honest with Ryan. “It kinda' started out that way. But when I scented with Dan...it was weird. You guys talk about scents being compatible and being receptive to certain hormones and stuff. We just _clicked._ I got kind of loopy, he left, and all I wanted was you.”

 

He nearly choked on a bite of egg as a hand snuck around his hip and palmed a his covered dick. He squirmed at the sudden touch but the Alpha shushed him and the purr-like sound soothed his nerves. A light squeeze made him drop the fork. “Did it turn you on?”

 

“It would've if you had been there,” Ray admitted freely, a quick rush of embarrassment making his chest tense up. “I-I mean...fuck.”

 

“Would you have liked me there?” Ryan inquired as he hooked his chin over the boy's shoulder. The thought wasn't unappealing.

 

“Yeah, actually.” He scooped up his last bite and washed it down with a swig of cold Monster. “I think Dan would've liked it too. He said he wanted to ask your 'permission' like I was some kind of Omega belle or something.”

 

Ryan seemed to think over the statement for a moment before he stepped away with a last pat on the boy's shoulder. “I'm going to go get a shower. Wrap my stuff up in foil, will you? I'll eat it at my desk.”

 

“We can be a late,” Ray suggested.

 

But the Alpha was already lost in thought and barely heard him before he shut the bathroom door. 

 

o0o

 

Ryan was useless for the rest of the day. He sent Lindsay in his place to record the GTA LP and the _Things to Do_ he had scheduled with the guys. He stayed at his desk with a very firm “Do Not Disturb” vibe radiating off him with every look and movement. He frowned at his computer screen and slowly worked through his pile of editing and new update list to consider for topics during _The Patch_. He needed to get together with Ashley and Gus to talk it over and he promised to make an appearance on _The Know_ as well. There was that build for _Minecraft_ too...

 

All got put on the mental back burners. Ryan's mind was wrapped around his new Omega and the British Alpha pup that had been sniffing around them. He was torn up about the whole thing but mostly he was confused about the conflicting feelings. His baser impulses were telling him to show that he was the better Alpha, that Ray was his now and he would protect their precious new relationship status at all costs. They would be talking about last night soon enough because he didn't like to throw around the word 'mate' lightly.

 

But there was tenderness in his heart for Dan. He wanted to teach the young Alpha all the hard lessons he'd learned over the years, maybe save him some heartbreak and fumbles. Take him under his wing, share what he knew, and learn from him in return. Gavin had told them once that Dan went after a lot of Omegas but somehow only ended up in brief relationships with Betas. And that one short relationship with Gavin himself. The boy was green with Omegas and Ryan had entertained quite a few in his day, some just friends through their heat but others as partners.

 

Ryan took off his glasses and leaned back in his chair, curling an arm over his eyes to block out the light. More thoughts began to creep up on him and in a moment of weakness he gave in. He wanted to hold Dan and Ray by the back of the necks and have them kiss, show the Alpha boy how to make an Omega crazy with just a few nibbles and a sweep of his tongue. Plunder Dan's handsome mouth as his own, give him some hands on experience of just what an Alpha can do with a kiss, and not even in that asshole way of showing dominance or superiority. There were... _nurturing_ feelings welling up inside him like the kind he had for Ray. He wanted to take care of Dan.

 

These types of feelings were new before Ray. He cared about people, he truly did. Maybe it was how he was raised but he could rarely pass up someone in need. He'd loved all his past partners in one way or another, and he had a special place for those he helped through their heats, but he'd always been careful to keep a line between 'kind' and 'Alpha'. He didn't like to enforce his status where it wasn't needed nor wanted.

 

This time with Ray was different because the Omega brought out all his instincts as a lover _and_ an Alpha. Caring for his partners wasn't the same as wanting to provide for them. He craved to make sure Ray ate well and had enough water and was at his happiest as often as possible. He wanted to cook for the Omega, cuddle with him on the couch, let him truly rest on their days off. Ryan felt a near-constant urge to rub his little boyfriend's shoulders, the nice line of his calves, kiss the nape of his neck until he melted...part his soft thighs and lick between them, open him up with his tongue until the boy was a melting puddle of nerves and pleasure.

 

Ryan dropped his arm and sat up in his chair, adjusting himself with a small grunt of annoyance. This was becoming something more than a passing fancy. Things were coming to light and the more he mulled it over the more he realized he had real feelings that he needed to deal with. And if that was the case he needed to talk to Ray, his Omega. Emotional cheating was despicable and he wasn't going to let something like this fester. Honesty, in this case, would have to be the best policy. He didn't want to upset his Omega but it would be worse if he let it go and then let it all resurface once Dan was finally out of his military stint. The Brit would be an essential member of the company day – hell, he was already essential – but he would be more present soon enough and he didn't want any conflict.

 

_I need to take care of this before it gets out of hand._

 

o0o

 

Ryan took his Omega out for a date at the pizza-and-a-movie place. The portions were hefty but delicious and they barely had any to box up and take home with them. In the car there was a lull of conversation.

 

“I want to talk to you about something important,” Ryan stated with less than his usual smoothness. “It might be upsetting. Do you want to do it at my place or yours? I want you to be comfortable.”

 

A year ago and Ray would have bolted in panic, locked himself up in his apartment for a week and claimed illness, played video games until his eyes bled and he vomited Monster. So many things had happened since then. His stomach tightened anxiously and his heart fluttered but he kept a level head. He reasoned that this wasn't a break up and it wasn't about their jobs, so it couldn't be too awful. Being surrounded by the Alpha's warm scent helped. “Let's go to your place.”

 

They settled on the couch together and put on a B-rated horror movie, the volume low so they could talk without creepy silence.

 

Ryan danced around it for a few minutes but crumbled under the steady, calm look of his Omega. There was a flicker of pride inside him for Ray's hard-earned confidence. He let that feed his own resolve. “I've discovered recently I have certain...feelings for Dan.”

 

He winced at how clinical it sounded. The wait felt like balancing on a razor edge and when he finally dared to look at his Omega he saw no difference in his expression besides a confused crease to his brow. It faded after a few moments and was replaced with a soft smile.

 

“You look like you're going to shit yourself,” Ray pointed out.

 

“I'm worried.”

 

“Well stop it, Jesus, you're making me feel bad with those puppy eyes,” Ray laughed, trying to break the tension. “I'm not mad or anything.” The mirthful sound faded as he really started thinking about it. “If we're going to be adults about this, I guess I have to ask, uh, why? Unless you think the answer's going to hurt me, then I'd appreciate it if you _didn't_.”

 

Ryan's heart panged at the way the Omega's mouth tightened into a thin, white line. He scrubbed a hand over his face and shuffled around his thoughts until he could voice them the way he wanted. “Alphas can be competitive, you know this, but when we fight sometimes tensions run a different way. There's this urge we experience to sort of put on a show for Omegas and we like to keep it from them so we don't seem like knotheads. It's primitive and I would never think of Omegas as prizes, but the instinct is still there. And now that we're not in caves, a lot of Alpha relationships start from that spark.”

 

Ray nodded along. _That makes a shit ton of sense, actually._

 

“While he was gone, Dan flirted with me through Skype,” Ryan continued, fingers fiddling with a threadbare patch in his jeans. “It wasn't obvious then but now that I've seen the way he acts around me, I believe it really was. I've been told I'm dense when it comes to things like that.”

 

“You seriously can be.” Ray remembered every person who had flirted with his boyfriend in front of him only to be treated no differently from the smiling Alpha. He shook those images away. “Do Alphas get all hot for...I mean, are they attracted to other Alphas?”

 

Ryan appreciated how mature his Omega was trying to be. “It's not particularly common but I've never fit well into the Alpha stereotype as I've always found them rather appealing. While I was trying to figure out if I presented wrong, Alphas were hitting on me a lot more and I decided to give them a try. I actually liked it and got attached to them.” He scratched at the back of his neck with nervous fingers. “I never got around to dating one, just a few one night stands when I was younger, but I appreciate them.”

 

He chewed the side of his lip thoughtfully, eyes lowering to the floor. “But Dan's not like a lot of them. He's a nice, sweet kid.”

 

“And hot,” Ray added with a grin. His mind was swimming with images of his Alpha rolling around with others of his status, taking and giving with bared canines and flexing muscle. The hint that Ryan had been knotted before, that he'd knotted another Alpha...it made his skin buzz in excitement. He'd seen pictures of his boyfriend in his youth and he was damn gorgeous.

 

That young face flushed, mouth hanging open as he moaned with each brush of a knot at his rim, soaked with synthetic slick so he could play Omega...

 

Ray adjusted himself in his pants and tried to keep himself from making a sound or shivering under the sudden onslaught of arousal.

 

Ryan sneered for a second but he reigned it in. He hoped the needy scent coming off his Omega wasn't from Dan. He sucked in a breath and decided to continue. “Some Alphas like to sexually dominate other Alphas but I've never been too keen on separating my emotions from the bedroom. Nor am I good at it.” Pink touched his cheeks. “I like to think people free from their status but I've also found myself falling into pack dynamics with our friends being as close as they are. It's like what Geoff did to me after my altercation with Joel, what he could have done. What...I would've let him do.”

 

Ray keened in the back of his throat, shifting restlessly on the couch. “Are you just saying this shit to get me worked up?”

 

“No, I promise.” Ryan smiled in relief as he realized how well his Omega was taking all of this. The iron grip around his heart eased up and his next breath felt much more enriching.

 

“So is that what you want to do to Dan?” Ray questioned.

 

“I do, in a way, but...more, I think,” the Alpha replied with a slight frown. “I'm still a little uncertain myself.”

 

“Then _try_ ,” Ray urged. 

 

He nodded and forged on. “I'm not fighting over you with Dan. That's a childish way of thinking. Seeing him attempt to court you has me wanting to exert some dominance over him, yes. But he's green and I want to teach him how to be a better Alpha.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “He couldn't pick up my scent on you and that's a mistake that could anger a lot of Alphas. I would love to show him what I know, like how to properly court an Omega. I know the slow method isn't preferred but it really does work. It builds lasting relationships and shows compatibility. I want him to be happy, fulfilled, and if I can help him do that I will. He's never taken on an Omega seriously and I want to show him how to treat them, how precious they are. God, you two just look so beautiful together and-”

 

Ryan cut off the start of his fumbling ramble when he saw how brightly his Omega was smiling. “If you want to do that with Dan, I wouldn't mind.”

 

“Jesus, Ray,” Ryan puffed out. “We're not like Geoff, Michael, and Gavin. I care about you – both of you – and how you feel. I won't risk you getting hurt. I care more than I can explain, really.”

 

“I know you do.” Ray saw the way his Alpha looked away and scooted closer, thigh to thigh, grabbing the man's heavy hand. The intimate gesture he used to scowl at when couples at the office engaged in it now felt like second nature. Ryan's fingers slid against his own, the hills and valleys of their hands slotting together perfectly. “It obviously means something since you told me. I may not understand a lot of dynamic stuff but I know that I would've paid money to see you fuck Joel into the floor.”

 

Ryan sat up straighter, cheeks growing warm. He couldn't believe the words he just heard that came out of his sweet boy's mouth. Ray's smirk was positively wicked and it burned through him, setting a spark off in the crux of his thighs.

 

“And I love Dan a lot, man. He's seriously one of the best people I know and he's got a good heart,” Ray gushed with that same, stricken look on his face he'd had on since Dan arrived. “He's the best bro ever. It's like hanging out with a Lad but he's an Alpha so I feel really safe. Maybe, you know, kind of like how I feel just chilling with you.”

 

He squeezed the Alpha's hand. “And hanging out with him, I can see how much he respects you. Shit, the dude looks up to you. But, Rye, I'm gonna' lay down some real talk.” His nose curled up. “I lied earlier. I may have, sort of...purposely...I didn't tell him that we were together. He told me about how you kissed him at the airport and the look in his eyes – I couldn't tell him. I was afraid if he knew we were together he'd stop flirting with us.”

 

Ryan shook his head, “Ray.”

 

“I like to hear Dan sing your praises,” Ray stated without an ounce of shame and a shrug. He saw the reluctant look on his Alpha's face and shouldered him playfully. “Come on, Rye, admit he's cute.” The man looked unconvinced and he nudged him again. “Dude, admit he's fucking cute. Come on. Come _on_.”

 

“Okay, he's cute!” Ryan broke with a relieved smile, pushing lightly at the Omega who looked like he'd won.

 

“Knew it,” Ray boasted. “I was almost jealous when I heard you kissed him but you should've seen how great he looked squirming around trying to deny how much he liked it. He kept saying that you were such a _good_ Alpha.” He crept his fingers up his boyfriend's arm, feeling mischievous. “That you were smart, and had a level head with such good looks. He was amazed you didn't have an Omega. I wanted so bad to tell him that I was yours, and that I knew how great you were from firsthand experience.”

 

He kissed Ryan's cheek and the Alpha sighed, the sound light and sweet enough that he knew he'd soothed his fears.

 

“Now that we're past that,” Ray trailed off, grabbing his boyfriend's shoulders and swinging around to perch on his lap. He brushed their noses to get the Alpha to smile wider. “Why don't you invite him over to clear the air?” He chewed the side of his lip, looking at Ryan from under the veil of his lashes. “Show him his place.”

 

Ryan gasped softly.

 

_Gotcha'. You want it just as much as I do._

 

“And I can be over for it?” Ray tucked a blonde lock behind the man's ear. “You two don't _have_ to do anything, none of us do. I-I mean, I'd only want to watch you guys. I don't think I'm ready to get involved with something like that.”

 

“You would let me?” Ryan was breathless, a heady feeling filling up his chest. His Omega leaned in, kissed him, and he felt his cock start to thicken in the confines of his boxers. “You want to watch me work?”

 

“You have urges, Rye. And with someone like Dan? I can't lie, it's seriously hot.” Ray hummed before his soft fingers fisted in the back of the man's hair and held him still, dark eyes burning into his own, close and serious. “But only if he's okay with every minute of it. If he isn't into it, you have to stop. I consider him a really good friend and you're not going to fuck it up with all this Alpha bullshit.”

 

“I promise,” Ryan swore. He would never hurt Dan like that. Ray visibly softened and he made an Omegan noise in his chest. He kissed the Omega's neck, teeth grazing the skin. “Thank you for understanding. God, I was so worried.”

 

“Ryan, you're a fucking catch. I'm not leaving you.” He shot the man a smirk. “I've worked too fucking hard to be here right now. You could actually call me someone else's name and I wouldn't walk out. I'm invested.”

 

“Ray.” The Alpha's hands came up cupped his cheeks, stealing his breath in one smooth motion. Their lips barely touched, eyes refusing to close to break the gaze. “Don't you ever believe that while I touch you I'm thinking of someone else. You're it for me. It doesn't matter who comes along. You're my Omega, my end of the line.”

 

“My moon and stars,” Ray teased viciously while his heart twisted up on itself, the words affecting him more than he would expect.

 

“My Khalessi,” Ryan pitched his voice comically low and got the boy to laugh. He chuckled and pecked a kiss on his shapely mouth.

 

“You are such a fucking loser.”

 

“Yeah, well so are you.”

 

“We're a pair of losers.”

 

o0o0o0o

 

Ryan wasted little time texting Dan and offering him a night at his house to hang out.

 

 **RyanH:** _Have you ever played Castlevania? The original?_ **  
DanTheMan:** _I haven't  
_ **RyanH:** _Why don't you come over and we can relax with some old games? Me, you, and Ray. Bring some beer.  
_ **DanTheMan:** _Sounds good_

Dan showed up at his doorstep and looked so much more nervous than he'd sounded through text. There was a nervous smile on his face and he looked pale around the edges, fingers clenched a little too tight around the handle of his beer case. It pained Ryan to see the Alpha boy so wound up and he followed him to the kitchen. Ray was waiting there for him and he yanked Dan into a brief hug.

 

“Fucking avoiding us,” Ray griped.

 

“I've been a git about all this.” Dan put his beer in the fridge, grabbing one just to have something for his hands to fiddle with. “I'm sorry for not knowing you two were together. I should've picked up the scents. I didn't even suspect, I was seriously blind. The way you two act – it's obvious. No one wanted to say anything and now I know why. Kinda' embarrassing to think that I was carrying on and couldn't see how you looked at each other.”

 

Ryan's harsh tisk made him shut his mouth. The older Alpha snagged his arm and pulled him into a hug, nose skimming through his hair with a light sniff. “You've done nothing wrong, Dan.”

 

“We didn't bring you here to yell at you,” Ray promised.

 

Dan rested his cheek on Ryan's shoulder, drinking in all he could from the contact before he pulled away and looked to the Omega to see if he'd pushed boundaries. His friend merely smiled and muscled his way between the two Alphas and got his arms around Dan's waist, standing up on his toes a bit to properly brush their cheeks. “I told Ryan about how we scented.”

 

Dan blanched and hesitantly raised his gaze to see how the older Alpha responded. Ryan just had that same cool expression on his face, a slight curve to his lips to show he truly wasn't upset. The scent of the couple so completely blended only upped his guilt. “I was expecting a thrashing.”

 

“Only virtually.”

 

They ordered pizza and breadsticks and every flavor of wings the take out place had to offer. Ryan had a TV with lots of ports so he was able to hook up his classic NES along with the Xbox so they could switch between platforms without having to get up. The food arrived quickly and they left greasy smudges all over the controllers and their jeans, napkins taken from the kitchen far too late.

 

As the evening slipped into night, Dan became a mess of shivers and clogged up senses. Both men rubbing up against him, perched on each side and fetching portions of food for him whenever he made a move to get some. Ray seemed to keep close, leaning over once in a while to nudge his nose against the young Alpha's neck. Ryan did the same and somehow managed to do it when he was least expecting it, the Gent chuckling when he jumped from the sensation of being scented. Dan found himself half hard almost constantly and tried his best to hide it, drinking more cold beer to soothe the fire in his belly.

 

Dan frowned when the older Alpha laid a hand over his, their fingers lacing across the cold curve of his second bottle. "Ryan?"

 

"Don't drink too much."

 

His stomach bottomed out and he wasn't sure why. But he trusted Ryan and complying was easy. Ray was beaming at him but didn't say anything. Was there something he should stay sober for? He'd planned to sleep on the couch but were they expecting him to drive his rented car back to Geoff's house when they were finished? The questions weren't voice and faded under the laughter they shared and the crushing weight of virtual defeat.

 

Ray destroyed them at the more modern games with an impressive, single-minded determination though Dan took second. Ryan gained a rare win but he thrashed him them at the longer-strategy game.

 

It got late, midnight flying past the clock and flicking to 1:00AM...2:00AM...

 

Ray cracked a loud yawn after he watched Dan get wiped out by Medusa heads for the third time. The young Alpha groaned and tried not to toss the controller. “Pissing fucking shit!”

 

“And that's my limit,” Ray declared, standing up and stretching his arms up high above his head. He shook loose his muscles and walked the few steps down the couch so he could lean over his Alpha. Ryan tilted his head up obediently for a kiss. It was slow at first but then he fisted a hand in Ryan's shirt, parting his lips for the man to lick the sweet taste of Coke out from behind his teeth. The Omega moaned faintly and changed the angle, deepening the kiss, only parting when he could smell the spike of Dan's pheromones. It was just as Ryan had described Alpha arousal for him to identify – almost musky, palpable pressure in the air, and it made his heart pick up a beat.

 

When they broke apart they looked to the younger Alpha to see his colored cheeks.

 

“I'm going to bed,” Ray decided, rubbing his knuckles against his boyfriend's chest one last time before going around the back of the couch. His fingers trailed through blonde tresses before dancing across the cushion and scratching through dark hair that matched his own. Dan's chirp surprised him and the Brit quickly cleared his throat and wished him goodnight.

 

Once he heard the bedroom door close, Ryan put a hand on his shoulder. “Why don't you go get us a beer?”

 

The older Alpha hadn't taken a drink all night and he was confused by the order but he followed through with it. Ryan offered a new challenge – a full round of Halo, COD, and _Titanfall_ to see who was the better gamer. It was much more competitive than it had been with Ray around (though maybe because now they had a chance to win). They drove elbows into each other's sides and tried to bat the controller's out of each other's hands. Being alone seemed to bring out the Alpha streaks in them both. They flashed fang and played hard, loudly mashing buttons with growls tickling the back of their throats.

 

After about an hour they ended up at a solid stalemate.

 

“I have an old copy of Achievement City. Want to help me try and blow up Geoff's house?”

 

Dan smiled in relief. If he had possessed a tail, it would have been wagging. “ 'Course. Let's pop it in.”

 

Ryan waited patiently until the zealous tension between them before he struck up the start of what he considered to be a _very_ big deal, despite his Omega's casual acceptance. “The way you were flirting with Ray? You started off very well.”

 

That got Dan's attention, his avatar nearly careening into a pit of lava. “You think so?”

 

Ryan filled a bucket with water with a hum, ready to put the Alpha boy out on screen. “When you meet an Omega you truly love and want, I've learned that a slow burn is best. There's a lot of layers to build between an Alpha and Omega.”

 

Dan blinked curiously, thumbs slowing on the control sticks.

 

“But if you had been going after Ray for real...” Ryan dragged out dramatically, waiting for the younger to glance at him before continuing. “Maybe a kiss would have been in order to show your intention of courting.”

 

“Is that what you would have done?”

 

“Mmhmm,” Ryan confirmed. “I was courting Ray long before he realized, before he presented even.”

 

“Before he presented?” Dan awed, his avatar getting shot to death in the game as the older Alpha nodded. “You and Ray, how did you get together?”

 

“I saw his needs and respectfully filled them,” Ryan drawled out, smirking when he saw the boy's expression. “Not like that.”

 

Dan chuckled nervously. “If I had kissed him, you would've kicked my arse all over the office.”

 

“Not true,” Ryan contended. “Kissing Ray is a wonderful experience. If he would've let you, you would not have been disappointed.”

 

The Brit rubbed a thumb over his mouth. Ryan's eyes tracked the movement with a flash of hunger.

 

“I think kissing is one of the most important tools in an Alpha's arsenal,” he continued with a barely contained rumble. “It makes an Omega relax and is the first indicator of how good of an Alpha you are. Seduction isn't quite as potent without a good technique.”

 

Dan suddenly found himself self-conscious about his technique. Sharp canines chewed over a pink bottom lip as he thought, _How good am I at snogging?_

 

“I'd like to think I make my Omega rather breathless,” Ryan commented light-heartedly.

 

“Could you show me?” Dan rushed out, shock etching all over his face as he heard his own words. “I mean – no, of course not – tell me. Ray wouldn't be okay with that. He's my mate – my _friend_ , I mean -  I wouldn't hurt him, I – ”

 

Ryan pressed the back of his hand to his mouth to hide his grin and smother up his chuckle. “You ramble like Gavin does when he gets nervous.”

 

Dan swallowed down another jumble of words. “Force of habit.”

 

“I'll show you, though. If you want.”

 

Dan sat the controller on the table and turned to face the Alpha, legs crossed up on the couch. Ryan did the same and tucked a leg up, the other foot still resting on the carpet. “Not too drunk?” The young Alpha shook his head. “Good. I want you to remember this.”

 

“I don't know how I'm supposed to forget it,” he noted with burgeoning exhilaration.

 

Ryan's hands came up and cupped both sides of his jaw, fingertips gliding over slight stubble and curling along his cheeks. The man's hands were warm and broad, so different from his usual partners' hands. His cheekbone was gently thumbed at before that hand slid around and curved along the back of his neck. It was a possessive move, something the usual Omega wouldn't try, and his insides turned liquid. He was brought in a little at a time, the soft caress of fingertips lulling him into a stupor to erase his doubts. When they finally kissed his head was swimming and his eyes fell closed, the sensation refusing to stay on his lips. It washed through the rest of him until he felt like he was being kissed everywhere all at once. He could taste the traces of beer on Ryan's tongue but not for long. He had made sure they were both sober enough and know he knew why.

 

Dan wanted to protest as the Alpha's hands fell away from his face but they soon came back to rub along his shoulders. The heft of them was grounding in a way he thought only Omegas could feel. Fingers crept up his neck again to burrow in his hair, blunt nails scratching along his scalp and just behind his ear. He sighed into the kiss and relaxed to allow himself to be led. This was Ryan, he could trust him. The other's tongue grazed the seam of his lips and reminded him just exactly what they were doing. _I'm kissing an Alpha. I'm kissing Ryan. Bleeding hell – should I pinch myself?_

 

They broke apart, Ryan's gaze half-lidded and eyes nearly glowing beneath his gold-spun lashes. Dan wanted to say something along the lines of a compliment or an exclamation of disbelief but all he could do was tilt his head back into the other Alpha's hands. They fell back into a kiss, Ryan's tongue dipping into his offered mouth and teasing his own. It was all so _slow_ , unhurried, so different than the pace he usually went with his partners. It was a snail's pace in comparison to making out with Gavin – the Omega was a whirlwind. They parted but just barely so Ryan could run his teeth over Dan's lower lip, sinking right back into the kiss. The rhythm felt so natural, mouths yielding to the pressure and breaths full of each other's scents. Sun-baked sand mixing with fresh bread, old heart and bonfire and warm nights mingling until they almost felt like they were outside.

  
A thumb traced the lobe of his ear and sent a pleasant tickle down into his lungs. Dan imagined crawling into the older Alpha's lap and burying himself in his chest, scrub that welcoming scent into his cheeks and clothes. He wished his own scent could be so strong. Ryan's hands fell on his shoulders again and began to gently push him back, the motion breaking their kiss and leading to him laying on the couch.

 

“Is this okay?” Ryan asked, brows knit in uncertainty. Dan leaned in and nosed at the scent gland hidden under the older man's jaw, moaning openly against his throat. This Alpha – his friend – smelled like he wanted him. It brought up thoughts of mounting and breeding. Of _knots_.

 

“Please,” he sighed against the gland, a worshipful kiss punctuated upon it.

 

Ryan laid him down, hands careful and gaze unwavering. Dan's breath hitched when the man's thigh slid between his own. Any other Alpha and he would have roared, went for the neck, but that smoldering blue stare assured him that nothing bad would happen to him. All he had to do was surrender and he would get what he'd been so desperately wishing for. Ryan's hand laced with one of his own and slide his arm up so their fingers were clasped above their heads.

 

Ryan settled between him and the couch, pressed all along his side and looking him over. “Have you ever seduced an Omega?”

 

“Not well,” Dan admitted with a tight throat.

 

“Let me show you,” Ryan offered

 

Dan was stunned with a mixture of hope and apprehension. “Will you really?”

 

The older Alpha's grin made his heart jump up into his throat. When he spoke his voice was a low, rolling purr that sent heat and blood rushing between his legs. “You're so cute making videos with my Omega. Running around attached at the hip and scenting one another. I would have loved to see it. But you know, Dan, acting so sweet and adorable doesn't entice Omegas. You know who you seduce with behavior like that?”

 

“Who?” Dan breathed out, throat threatening to close up when he finally saw the raw lust in the other's eyes.

 

“ _Alphas_.”

 

Their kiss was far hungrier than one's before it. Dan tightened his grip on Ryan's fingers when the man's free hand laid at the base of his throat. The press of their bodies was so much hotter than it was a few moments ago. Each breath came a bit harsher, his blood pounding a little harder, and everything below the belt got tight. Ryan's hand ran down his neck and just barely caught on the collar of his shirt. The flick of the material made him jump.

 

“Don't be nervous,” Ryan whispered against his mouth.

 

Dan steeled himself, wanting to prove himself in the man's eyes. “I'm not. Are _you_?”

 

The challenge made Ryan grin. His boy had some fight in him. _Good_. He brushed their cheeks, stubble scraping and scent sticking to the bristles. He had once admired the snowy line of Dan's throat but the flesh had long been kissed by the sun and it felt good beneath his mouth. He kissed lightly at the scent gland there beneath his strong jaw, at the base of his throat, and all along his pulse as his hand traveled down. The sure fingers slipped under his shirt with bold intent, stroking over the carved lines of the young Alpha's hips. He was so much more defined than Ray and lacked the softness he loved in his Omega. Dan held strength to match his own, more so with his training. Ryan let his hand drift back up and enjoyed the goosebumps he left in his wake. He dragged his canines against the swell of his throat while his fingers snagged a dark nipple between his fingers.

 

Dan tossed his head back with a closed mouth moan, body arching up to chase the touch.

 

“You have to be in control at all times,” the older Alpha advised as he ran his thumb over Dan's hand. “You have to let them know you'll take care of them.”

 

Ryan caught him in another kiss, deeper this time, slanting their lips so he could more easily twine their tongues. Though Dan played he was more submissive than before, letting the older man take the lead and following each press of his mouth to get _more_. He dug his teeth into the Brit's lip again and got a nibble in return. It would've been a challenge if not for the pretty whining. He knew he had Dan pliant under his hands and he treasured the feeling just as much as he did when Ray allowed him such power.

 

And as with his boyfriend – he wanted to be the only Alpha to be allowed to experience it.

 

Ryan continued his leisurely, firm strokes over the other side, his chest, teasingly mercilessly at his pants line. He ignored the puckered nubs that hardened so nicely in desire for his attention and got a sound of protest against his mouth.

 

“You're a beautiful young Alpha,” Ryan confessed, palm resting just above where denim was beginning to bulge. Dan's simper told him that the boy's Alpha instincts were gone, thrown out in the window in favor of pure desire unburdened by status. The moment he curled his fingers around the tempting curve that separated him from warm flesh Dan rocked up into it like an obedient pup. He let him chase the pleasure as he drank up the wonderful sight, etching it into his memory. He caught the metal zipper and fiddled with it teasingly before starting to tug it down. “On your word I'll stop.”

 

“You don't have to keep asking,” Dan panted lightly. “I-I want this, Ryan. But Ray-”

 

“You let me worry about Ray,” Ryan hushed him gently.

 

The young Alpha blinked the lustful fever from his eyes. “I don't want to hurt him.”

 

“I would never allow that,” Ryan swiftly promised as he squeezed the other's fingers, the small embrace above their heads growing hot as they both realized they had reached a new point. Dan swallowed thickly and nodded, breath hitching loudly as hie zipper was eased down.

 

“Now be a good boy and turn over.”

 

The command met his ears as gentle as anything but it truly sounded _Alpha_. Ryan's hands shifted and laid on his hips, shushing him when he made a sound of distress. He wanted to be good, he wanted to know what to do, and he sighed in relief when the older Alpha gave him just that. Dan was guided over onto his knees, hands braced on the arm of the couch to keep him elevated. He just got his bearings when his shirt was rucked up under his arms and the cool air brushed his bare chest.

 

Ryan smiled fondly, fingers slipping past the hem of the young Alpha's jeans. “You've got tan lines.”

 

The amused timber made Dan laugh to himself, but it was a small sound and it disappeared when his pants were yanked down to pool around his knees. A whimper bubbled up but he quickly stopped himself and swallowed it down. Ryan fit up behind him, knees bracketing his own and big hands laying on his bared hips. The couch barely fit the two of them like this. The closeness inspired a desperation deep within his chest that had him craving more. He was vulnerable, stripped down to just his boxers with an older Alpha rubbing along the elastic band in well-contained desire.

 

Dan liked it. Fuck him, he _loved_ it. The edge of unknown fear, the adrenaline rush, the buzz of apprehension – he was eating it up. Big hands swept along his shoulder blades and down the broad muscles of his thighs. He should've hated being pet and hushed like an Omega but the sensation was like cuddling with Gavin but so much more addictive.

 

He wasn't in charge and it felt like truly relaxing for the first time in almost a year.

 

“You're all muscle.”

 

The compliment made Dan's heart pound and his breath pick up, cock hardening pathetically fast in his underwear. He was glad to be facing away to hide his quick reaction.

 

“How many Omegas have you fallen in bed with?” Ryan inquired with a tenderness that surprised him. He was being gentled like an Omega but he couldn't be offended, not with how good the touches made him feel. The truth tumbled from his lips.

 

“Just Gavin. T-The rest were lies,” he admitted, cursing the tremble in his voice. “Didn't want to admit that I've never had one let me get that far.”

 

“Let you? _Allow_ you. _Permit_ you. Omegas are not prizes but they should be cherished,” Ryan corrected, dragging his nails over the younger Alpha's leg. It skin reddened under the light punishment. “How many have you gone after?”

 

“So many.” His cheeks burned in old rejection.

 

Ryan hooked two fingers in each side of the elastic, too-warm skin brushing his knuckles. “Let's see what you're working with.”

 

Dan hissed under his breath when his boxers were tugged down, his cock catching on the material and bouncing up against his stomach. Pre-cum smeared just below his belly button and the air cooled it.  Fingertips skimmed the bare curves of his ass, the man's thumbs rubbing soothing circles right above them in the tight spot in the dip of his back. He didn't realize he was so tense but his body went loose under the gentle coaxing. A tremor went through his arms. With a whispered suggestion, he took full, long breaths to calm his body down. He was damn excited and his body was high-strung in anticipation. He didn't know where it was going but he wanted it badly.

 

A palm appeared in front of his mouth like an offering. “Lick.”

 

Dan's lashes fell low he leaned forward and ran his tongue along the calloused palm without question, canines grazing lightly at each fingertip. He made sure to make the skin nice and wet because _this_ – he knew what this was, and his cock was drooling for contact. And that was just what he got but in abundance.

 

Ryan wrapped a hand around his length and gave it a good _squeeze_ before starting to pump in a fast, merciless rhythm that contradicted the pace they had played with so far. Fingers spread across his hip to hold him still. Dan started whining and couldn't stop, Ryan's name escaping his lips as he rocked shamelessly into the tight ring of the Alpha's fingers. He had no leverage like this and could only allow the man to stripe his cock. The power Ryan held over him was comforting like the tight hug they'd shared in the airport, a loving restraint. The first blur of pleasure kept him from recognizing the motion but after he got used to the touch and his brain wasn't so mucked up he could feel the tightening at the base of his cock on each thrust.

 

Ryan was trying to get him to knot, and it was working.

 

o0o

 

“Good. I want you to remember this.”

 

“I don't know how I'm supposed to forget.”

 

Ray whispered his boyfriend's name into the dark room and blinked dully, mind throwing off the sleepy daze he'd fallen under. He never did sleep well so he hadn't passed out completely. That, and he'd been pretty sure that Ryan just needed some private time with Dan to get up his courage. He'd wanted the Alphas to bond a little and get close and he had decided early on that with his presence they would never try anything. His absence had apparently been the push they needed and it made him grin as he flopped his hand around looking for his glasses. His Alpha's rumbling voice worked through the thin walls and he could catch most of it, the hallways jumbling up the sounds. He hurried to pull on his sweats and a tank he'd stolen from Michael at one point, fumbling with them as he went toward the door to hear better.

 

“...know who you seduce with behavior like that?”

 

“Who?” Dan's voice was so timid. He'd seen his friend act submissively with Gavin but this seemed to be on a whole other level.

 

“ _Alphas_.”

 

Ray made a small, half-moan when he heard his boyfriend's rough reply. He sniffed at the crack in the door and had to bite back a whimper. The mix of Alpha musk was intoxicating and he wanted to lick it up from the sources, nip at their necks as they touched him. Two sets of calloused, heavy hands curling over the back of his neck and cupping his ass, stroking over his back until he purred. Just the image of sprawling over their laps and getting heavy pets until he shuddered between them.

 

He clunked his head softly on the door before sliding down to spread out on the floor. He yawned out the last of his exhaustion and blinked rapidly, urging himself to wake up. He folded his arms under his head and cocked his head at the bottom gap in the door. He could hear much better down here.

 

“You're a beautiful young Alpha.”

 

Ray's eye fell shut and his hand drifted down to palm himself through his sweats. It was strange but his cock stirred when he heard Ryan promising to stop if Dan wanted to. It was the one request he'd made. Ray knew he was Ryan's and Ryan was his, that they were committed and cared about one another – he was confident in their relationship.

 

Dan's voice was wrecked and low. “You don't have to keep asking. I-I want this, Ryan. But Ray-”

 

“You let me worry about Ray.”

 

“I don't want to hurt him.”

 

“I would never allow that.”

 

Ryan's promise made his heart flutter. _My Alpha._

 

Showing their affection for Dan, soothing Ryan's ruffled Alpha instincts...it was nothing compared to making sure their friend was happy. They had both seen how torn up Dan had become after knowing they were together. After a brief, complicated encounter with Gavin that had barely lasted a minute he'd found out that Dan had apparently been thinking about courting both of them – unsure of which. Gavin had been reluctant to give up the information and afterward he'd run off, claiming he was a terrible friend. Sharing themselves a bit with the sweet Alpha pup didn't feel wrong or perverse. It felt like a taste of whatever bond Geoff, Michael, and Gavin shared. But different.

 

 _Ryan and I just got our shit together. We don't have time to talk about wild and crazy threesomes._ Ray tried to joke with himself but his musing took a serious note after a moment. _Maybe with time...I don't know. Anything can happen._

 

Listening and being a part of this made him feel dirty in the best way. Maybe a while ago this would have felt like cheating, would have made him think they were deviants, but seeing Gavin in love and Lindsay so free had changed his mindset over the years at Rooster Teeth. God, Dan had been slipping into his dreams a lot lately. Faint images of fur-line cloaks and silk sheets, of being served by the young Alpha in one way or another with Ryan's fierce gaze on them. That weird Mad King fetish the fans helped him indulge in with fanart seeping all through his daydreams. 

 

The day they had scented had done something to his brain and he had his claws in him. He could see how attractive his Alpha friend was, one would have to be blind not to, but his eyes and heart had only been focused on Ryan before. Now there was new possibilities, permission, and he wanted to get what he could. He wanted to know what it was like to kiss him, be touched by him. He'd only had this strong of an impulse a few times in his life and Ryan was the only one he'd ever followed through with.

 

“Now be a good boy and turn over.”

 

Ray chewed his lower lip at the Alpha's command. He listened closely as Dan confessed to never being with an Omega besides Gavin before. There was a damp patch starting to bloom on his grey sweats and he wasn't sure how much long he could stay in the bedroom and just listen.

 

Then the moaning started and he sat up straight, a batch of butterflies bursting in his stomach.

 

He had to get in there.

 

o0o

 

Ryan draped himself over the young Alpha's body so he could feel his heat. Dan's arms held their weight easily. He pushed up against the other and the heavy contact was comforting. It felt like he was shielded, safe, maybe even _trapped._ For Ryan it felt like college again, fumbling around with other Alphas and fondling each other's knots to learn what made them swell. They slowly rocked against one another to enjoy the other's muscle and power, raw strength and pure hormones clouding up their thoughts. Their noses twitched when they smelled aroused Omega, Dan breaking off mid-moan when he caught it. Footsteps, a small chuckle, and then Ray was walking around the couch. He looked well rested and kind of mischievous. _My Omega._

 

“I leave the room for one nap,” Ray teased lightly, eyeing the two. “And you're swapping spit to _Minecraft_ music? Nerds.”

 

They all found their chests swelling with a heady mix of excitement, uncertainty, and affection. It was indescribable, a new feeling for all of them. Being under Ryan – jerking another Alpha's cock – watching his boyfriend with one of his good friends – it all seemed so _normal_. They were friends, they cared about one another, but there was a taboo element to the scene that made them giddy and light-headed. It felt like one of those moments that reminded them they were truly living, shoving aside taboo and rules and just doing what made them feel good.

 

Any doubts they had evaporated and the Alphas zeroed in on the sway of the Omega's hips and the sweet smell trailing after him. Ray turned his boyfriend's comfy chair toward the couch and plopped down into it, legs kicking out and arms falling over the sides. Dan's thick brows were furrowed in confusion and he panted loudly, still throbbing in Ryan's hand. “R-Ray?”

 

“Is he treating you alright?” Ray asked.

 

Dan looked between them, scared he was going to cause a rift. Ryan nuzzled the back of the younger's neck while a low, Alpha purr rumbled in his throat. The sound curled through him and he bowed his head, showing off his nape.

 

“You two look really good,” Ray pointed out with a nonchalance he wasn't sure he really felt. He wanted to keep Dan calm and the sound of his voice seemed to help. “I could smell you from the bedroom.”

 

Ryan saw his Omega's erection straining against his sweats. “I can tell. You should have stayed.”

 

“You two needed your Alpha time.” The Lad sat back in the chair and smiled lazily, mind already starting to go fuzzy around the edges from the scent of two aroused Alphas. “Are you going to mount him, Rye?”

 

Dan's eyes went wide and he whined, words escaping him. Ryan hushed the other again and nipped low at his neck until the worried sounds died off. “I told Ray about how I wanted to show you my way of handling Omegas. That you knew where you stood in our group...courting my mate, as you did.”

 

A small, Omega purr erupted in Ray's chest at the word _mate_.

 

“Though that's something we haven't discussed,” Ryan stage whispered like a secret in the young Alpha's ear. “Anyone would be lucky to have a mate like him, don't you think?”

 

“God, yeah,” Dan huffed, voice rough as pleasure pulsed from between his thighs up into his limbs.

 

“But we _have_ talked about this,” Ray gestured. “You two being fucking hot.”

 

Dan's blissful smile from the praise was interrupted by a moan, mouth dropping open and eyes fluttering shut as his dick was squeezed expertly at the base. His knot was truly starting to swell now.

 

“Forgive us, we're a little scent drunk.” Ryan grinned at him and the Lad could see how dark his Alpha's eyes were. Dan matched.

 

“I can tell.” Ray slid a hand over his own thigh, teeth catching on the corner of his mouth. “I-I don't think I'm fairing much better.”

 

“Let's get a good look.”

 

Ryan's words curled like smoke through the room and the timber sent a shiver through the other two. Ryan wrapped an arm around Dan's neck, being gentle but firm as he pressed his forearm to his throat. He kept his lips to the Brit's pulse and his nose close to his scent glands to look for signs of distress, to stop, but all he got was wispy moans and pre-cum dripped across his knuckles. He drew Dan back until the boy was on his knees, back to chest. The Gent decided this would be the position he wanted Dan in when he finally got him off. Now was for admiring.

 

Dan whimpered, unable to look at himself as he was bared to the cool air and two hungry gazes. His shirt was still sticking along the top of his chest and anything that could have hid his enjoyment was pooled around his knees.

 

Ray's jaw dropped comically as he looked at his friend's form. Dan was pale where his army gear had protected him from the desert sun. There were red lines from Ryan's nails striped across his strong thighs and the muscled swells of his chest and stomach. Even his nubs looked like they'd been toyed with. Some of those marks looked like they were from teeth. _Classic Ryan_.

 

It was a shock to see Dan naked when he hadn't seen his own boyfriend completely bare but he unexpectedly loved it, eyes dancing all over to memorize the sight. He was fit and there was dark hair dusted across his legs, chest bare but flushed beautifully. Those arms looked like he could snap his neck and he wanted to feel them around him.

 

Ryan purred in a pure, content Alpha display and Dan returned the sound though it was much more mild, Alpha yet _soft_ like an Omega. Ray is responding to the sound with needy chitter before he realized what he was doing. His boyfriend's eyes flicked to him with a knowing smirk as he pressed on the bared throat until Dan's head dropped back onto his shoulder.

 

Ryan kissed his neck once, twice, and the third was a pleased bite that made the Brit thrust up into his hand. Ryan looked down the length of the boy's body and his fingers slid over the curve of his knot. A adoring gaze was set upon the swelling flesh, his own throbbing at the pleasing sight. He firmly cupped his prize and gave it a good squeeze. “You have such a pretty knot.”

 

Ray wet his lips, hesitating. “Is it...bigger or smaller than yours?”

 

“Smaller,” Ryan hummed beneath the young Alpha's jaw right over a gland. “I like yours, Dan. It's so smooth and fits right in my hand.”

 

He rubbed his thumb over the knot before he him go completely. Dan fell forward and put his arms on the couch again, speechless and stunned from the quick clutches against his half-full knot. It took him a moment before he realized he was presenting like an Omega, back dipped and thighs spread apart. If he was a different status his hole would be gaping for the Alpha that was treating him so well. The thought of getting wet for Ryan made him dizzy.

 

“Gorgeous,” Ryan praised, stroking over the Alpha boy's hips. “If an Omega offers themselves like this, they're ready for you.” His thumb trailed down the cleft of his ass and brushed his dry hole for just a moment. Dan openly moaned and shuddered, arms wobbling dangerously. No one had ever touched him like that.

 

Ray fiddled with the hem of his pants and debated on what to do but threw inhibitions aside and tugged them down to let his dick free. He watched the flex of Dan's muscles as he trailed his fingers over his own cock, ends dancing through the blurt of wetness at the tip. He lost his breath when Ryan draped himself over Dan again and bit lightly at his shoulders, wrapping his hand around the Brit's cock once more with real intent. Watching his boyfriend's thighs shift under his jeans, seeing the hump of his hips against Dan's ass – it sent heat into his groin and he started rubbing himself to the rhythm of the Alphas faux-rut. 

 

“Look at my Omega,” Ryan whispered filthily into Dan's ear, jerking his cock for more than to pop his knot. “He's so hard thanks to us. We smell so good together. Better than cologne, don’t you think? I bet he's as wet as you are.” He squeezed the head to force out a fat drop of pre-cum. “You're dripping all over the couch. I'm not going to be able to make out with my boy here without remembering how sweet you're being for me right now.”

 

Dan tried to shake the haze from his mind but it was thick and warm, inviting, and he struggled to string two thoughts together. He felt well and truly dominated and he wondered if this was how cherished Omegas felt in this position. He'd imagined how hot Ryan and Ray would look in bed together and now he wondered what it would be like to be under the Alpha, to be forced open around his cock and made to bare down on his fat knot. How big was it? Would he be able to take it?

 

Dan cocked his head to look over his shoulder, voice no higher than a rasp. “Are you going to knot me?”

 

Ray bit the crook of his thumb to smother his lewd moan at the words. Ryan brushed his cheek along Dan's nape and bit him nice and tight on the shoulder until he heard a keen, the Brit's body arching enticingly against him. When the older Alpha spoke a hint of drawl slurred in. “No, pretty boy, I'm not going to knot you.”

 

Ray toyed with the head of his cock and tried to keep his eyes open as he pushed into his own touch. He could take a guess that this was what being drunk felt like. He kept breathing in the saturated air in great, greedy gulps that made his blood run hot and the base of his dick tingle. The new mixed scent was warm, savory, and had his own sweet undertone. It reminded him of s'mores with dark chocolate, like fresh cinnamon rolls with baked almonds – heavy on his tongue and filling him up until he ached. He caught the look his boyfriend shot him, a slight crease across his handsome brow, and he smiled at him reassuringly in a silent, _I'm fine_.

 

“Come here, Alpha boy, get in my lap and let me take care of you,” Ryan crooned, wrapping his arm around the boy's waist again. He would draw it out longer, make him beg, but Dan's arms were like jelly trying to hold himself up. He dragged Dan back to sit on his thighs, letting him rest all his weight on his hobbled knees. He settled the Brit comfortably against him before starting to jerk at his generous cock again, noting the heft of it in his hand and the cute knot that fattened up with each drag. His own cock dug painfully against his zipper with the need to see Dan get off, to feel his hot seed and smell his Omega's arousal spike with the show.

 

Ryan's canines were itching with a long suppressed need to mark and _bite_ so he gave in, digging his teeth into the meaty flesh of the boy's lightly bruised shoulder. He pushed up to grind his thick bulge into the curve of the pale ass so willing resting against him. The moment Dan felt how hard the Alpha was his eyes popped open, the strengthening of Ray's sweet scent giving him a flash of uncertainty. He looked over to see the Omega touching himself and he trembled right down to his bones.

 

“What are we doing?” Dan whined, still moving eagerly as the vulnerability grew along with pressure in his groin.

 

“We're enjoying each other.”

 

The causal, heated words couple with the experienced, tight fist on his cock set him off. Dan let out a high moan as he clawed a Ryan's arms and the couch, skin prickling and sharp sparks going through his fingers as his knot was milked. He stuttered out both their names under his breath, lashes fluttering wildly as he started to spill over Ryan's fist and his own thighs. The couch scritched under his nails and took the brunt of his finish. Thick, obscene stripes painting over the plain material, smearing over his own cock as Ryan worked him through his orgasm like he wanted it to last. Soft sounds dropped out of him as he came down from the high. One hand still clamped down on his throbbing knot, Ryan's free hand pet along his ribs and sweaty curve of his spine. _Good boy_ was murmured into his ear as more tender kisses were rained down on his throat, an apologetic tongue lapping at the few faint marks he'd left.

 

Ryan turned his head and brushed their lips. “Do you have another load for me, baby?”

 

“Don't think so,” Dan sighed and got a second, deeper kiss for his honesty.

 

Ryan nodded and released the boy's knot as gently as he could, moving to stand up. “Then why don't you lay here for me? Just like this.”

 

Dan followed the Alpha's hands so that he was laid along the couch away from the streaks of spunk. His underwear was tugged over his filthy, softening cock and his jeans stripped off. His chest was still heaving for breath as Ryan smoothed out his shirt to protect him from the slight cold of the room. His entire body was buzzing, full of energy yet boneless.

 

“We'll get you cleaned up in a minute.” He hummed when the man's fingers pet through his hair. “You stay and relax.”

 

Dan cracked his eyes open and saw the impressive swell that showed the other was still unsatisfied. He propped himself up on one elbow and tugged him closer by the belt, hand cupping over his covered cock. He looked up at the handsome Alpha's face and earned a low moan with a firm grope. He leaned in and nuzzled the denim, tongue coating with the scent of laundry detergent and Alpha musk. “Let me help.”

 

Dan's arms stopped working and he fell back onto the couch, exhausted from the drawn out session. He made an apologetic noise in the back of his throat and was kissed sweetly on the forehead. “Your exhaustion is a compliment, I promise. Why don't you lay back and watch?”

 

“Gonna' give me a demonstration?” Dan slurred, still breathless.

 

Ryan ran a thumb over the boy's cheek. “You're learning fast.”

 

The Gent straightened up and started working on his belt, the leather sliding through the loops with a faint sound before being tossed away. He selfishly unbuttoned his pants and rolled his eyes in exasperation when he saw the eager way his dick strained against his boxers, a small wet patch visible. But there was a sigh of relief because – _finally_ – some room to breathe. He should've chosen sweats for a seduction because there was zero space in those jeans. There was a sound behind him like a hiccuped moan but he knew all of Ray's noises and there was a note of distress in there.

 

Ryan whipped around and found that his Omega had got up from the chair and was now facing away from them. He rushed up to him and cupped his shoulders, nuzzling his hair to take in his scent.

 

Ray pressed the back of his hand to his mouth and groaned in relief when his Alpha rubbed his arms. He was flustered from watching Dan come. It had been amazingly hot and he'd nearly busted his nut to the sight. Getting that turned on by watching his boyfriend get another guy off...it was overwhelming. He was trembling with unresolved need but being physically away from Ryan had fucked something up in his head. He knew what this was about, how this was supposed to go, but he hadn't expected to be so affected from seeing Dan submit. It was the same kind of heat he'd gotten from seeing Ryan bite Joel but this was more intense, more intimate. He'd wanted to get involved, to go over and lick up the Alpha seed that had been wasted on the couch. Wanted to have Ryan to teach him how to milk a knot, how to make him kiss twice like that...how to leave gorgeous marks on the Brit's pale patches of skin.

 

“Is it too much?” Ryan's low voice was concerned and close to his ear, giving him a way out without hurting anyone's feelings.

 

“I need you,” Ray admitted, turning around and nuzzling into the Alpha's shoulder. The trips to the gym had been kind and the strength he felt in his boyfriend's body helped subdue the new flutter of nerves. Ryan murmured an endearment and laced a hand through his hair to guide their cheeks together, noses brushing through hair, scents mixing more directly. Ray's tongue flicked in an Omega chitter as his Alpha's hand laid along the nape of his neck to ground him. His knees knocked and his mind mushed pleasantly.

 

Ryan kissed under his ear, fingers flicking at the waistband of his loose pants. “You're hard.”

 

“You two are so God damn good looking.” Now he sounded like Dan, slurring and scent-drunk with a brain packed full of fluffy Georgia cotton.

 

“Want me to help you out there?” Ryan offered, blunt nails scratching at the boy's nape to get him in that sweet head space. He backed his Omega up to sit on the end of the chair arm, crowding up into his space to steal him in a kiss. He rubbed his hands all over the soft body, fingers groping at plump flesh that had swelled under the flux of Omega hormones. Ryan had been panting to touch Ray since he'd emerged that day in the office, filled out in all the right places with a new confidence in his eyes and smile. Ray began to rub up against him, spreading his legs so that the Alpha could fit himself up between them.

 

“Rye,” his boyfriend whispered in honey-sweet plead, that delicious scent clinging to every fiber of their clothes and getting burrowed into his neck by the other's insistent little mouth. The Alpha made a decision for both of them and sat down in the chair, pulling the other into his lap and making him promise to stop if he wanted to stop. Ray settled comfortably on him and swore he would though his words were sloppily strung together. He was facing Dan and his thighs were tucked on either side of Ryan's own, his position more helpless than he'd realized as he was coaxed to lay back against his boyfriend.

 

“My Omega,” Ryan sighed against his exposed neck. It was a new term of endearment for both of them and it still inspired a thrill to hear it out loud. Thick fingers played over his nipples, the borrowed tank doing nothing to muffle the sensation. Ever since they'd scented so intimately, Ryan had developed a fixation with them that usually ended him with him shivering and encouraging him to suck and bite to his pleasure. It gave him a reason to indulge in his own kink – Ryan's fine, soft hair that was so thick in the back, giving him a handle to guide his talented mouth.

 

But then his sweats and underwear were pulled down, cock springing free once more and balls tucked tightly over the elastic rim. It was a welcome pressure that staved off the first tendrils of orgasm. The air felt good on his overheated skin but he whined when he saw Dan's smoldering gaze focus on him, dark eyes drinking in the details of the display they were making. He didn't want to snap his legs closed or anything but this was the first time someone had seen him naked besides the girls and Ryan.

 

Ryan's lips grazed across his smooth jaw. “Don't worry, Omega. I won't show him anything I haven't thoroughly claimed.”

 

Ray felt his cheeks heat up at the words and he cried out when the man wrapped a hand around his cock, thumb dragging under the slight rim of the head to tease the nerve endings. Ryan's chuckle reverberated through his own chest. The bastard knew what that kind of talk did to him. The strokes weren't as ruthless as what Dan had received but they matched his grinding hips perfectly and made a whole slew of embarrassing noises. Ray could feel the slow seep of his own slick, just a faint wetness earlier and now a steady drip that he _knew_ could be seen in the grey material. He knew it wasn't unusual for an Omega to get wet outside heats but a strong scented mate like his made it happen in the most embarrassing times. He knew Michael had the same problem with Geoff and his scent.

 

The Omega felt a telltale bulge against the top of his ass and he shifted up to push against it, gasping loudly at the notable weight to it. God, he wanted to feel it, see it. Ryan had been such a damn gentleman and had refused to show him, claiming they'd go too far if he felt his touch. He trusted his Alpha to know what was best but that didn't stop him from craving it.

 

His eyes met Dan's and he couldn't help but smile seeing the other so comfortably wrecked. The Brit's breath was still coming in soft pants, dick half hard in his boxers, tan cheeks never losing their wonderful flush. His dark eyes were fixated on them but glazed over – he looked just as gone as Ray felt. Under him, Ryan's legs spread, which parted his own and made the waistband dig harder into sensitive skin. The pinprick of pain made his cock visibly twitch. A hand crept under his shirt and started playing with his nipples, plucking at them almost cruelly before rubbing the ache away. The pleasured agony was more than he could stand. The Alpha nuzzled his temple before kissing the shell of his ear so he tilted his head obediently to give him full access.

 

“You can't imagine how addictive you are,” Ryan swore, stroking over the Omega's hard flesh while he rubbed his own against him. He briefly wished they were ready for more so he could fuck up into the slick hole that was teasing his nose and soaking through those layers. “I'm going to want to play with you every day now that you're mine.”

 

“You're mine too, old man,” Ray teased with a shaky voice. “And I...I don't think you can keep up with me.”

 

Ryan's lustful growl caught him by surprise and he swallowed a scream when canines set deep into his neck.

 

Ryan relaxed his jaw almost the moment he started the bite, fearing he was going too hard for his Omega. He had bit next to his pulse, dangerously close to the gland that was chock full of oxytocin that bonded mates together. An ugly bout of guilt hit him in the chest when he realized just how unfair it was to Ray to have all these impulses and spring them on him in his most exposed moments. He needed to talk to his boy about his inclination to leave marks and the itch that always seemed to be in his canines. But that was for later.

 

Ray felt everything inside him tightening up and wanted to say something, to warn his Alpha, but as always the man was a step ahead of him. Ryan stroked up hard and squeezed the wet head of his cock, thumbing over the tip as his canines grazed over the node hidden under his jaw. The bite was merciless and the sharp sensation ripped away the last of his control. His balls felt tight and full against his body and there was that last push of pressure before he was erupting. Ray's mouth dropped open in a silent cry as he came, the weak spurts that decorated the chair and his Alpha's hand contradicting the intense waves rolling through him.

 

“Ryan,” Ray agonized, the shudders wracking through him threatening to shake him apart at the seams.  But his Alpha held him together with firm nips along his shoulder and a firm grasp on his straining cock. He blinked the haze from his eyes and locked gazes with Dan, the Brit drinking in the sight with doteful awe. “D-Dan.”

 

Dan's smile lit up his whole face.

 

Ray slumped into his boyfriend's arms, cock softening and thighs tingling from the inside out. There was a comforting warmth spreading through him, radiating from his core and meeting Ryan's body heat to wrap him up rather nicely. He chittered sweetly and lolled his head to the side so he could nuzzle the Alpha's neck as the last of his orgasm was gently pumped out of him.

 

“My good boy,” Ryan's usually smooth voice was rough with need, the sight and smell of his Omega's orgasm still a new joy. The wet little Omega cock in his hand felt like a most precious gift but he knew they couldn't stay like this. He tugged the boy's boxers up before he regretfully wiped his hand off on the ruined material. Once Ray was tucked away he started nuzzling his hair, scenting him to help keep the boy's post-orgasm buzz going for as long as possible.

 

Ray was struck with a naughty idea, a smirk twisting his lips as he wiggled out of the man's lap. He tugged off his boxers and flashed a wicked look at his unsuspecting boyfriend before grabbing the flaps of the other's open fly.

 

“Wait,” Ryan protested, trying to grab at his jeans before the Omega ripped them down his legs. “I'm fine, really. You don't have to-”

 

“Shut up,” Ray cut him off effectively but he did leave the Alpha's boxers on. If Ryan didn't feel ready to go that far then that fit right into his plans. He bent over and kissed him, quieting him more gently as he crawled back into the man's lap. He'd seen the swell of the Alpha's cock pushing against the underwear with that growing familiar label plastered on the thick band that cut a line across his hips. He made a silent reminder of the brand and then squirmed around until he settled over the bulge and rocked onto it. Ray was careful not to hurt him but kept it close, biting teasingly at his boyfriend's lip as he rasped his spent cocklet and still-wet hole all over the material. He knew it was filthy and messy but the way Ryan's eyes rolled back into his head made it worth it.

 

Ryan grabbed his ass with both hands and held on, more a light guide than an effort to control, and the possessive touch only proved he was turning his Alpha on. Despite already getting his, Ray could still feel slick seeping out of him with all the musk still in the air. He braced a hand on Ryan's chest and rolled his hips just how the Gent had showed him. He whined in the sweetest way he could manage as he purposefully rubbed his hole over the rough bulge. It made them both moan and surge into a needy kiss, the Alpha eating hungrily at his mouth as he moved with him.

 

 _One day we're going to do this for real._ Ray grabbed the Alpha's hand and moved it past his cheek to the smooth, wet entrance that was begging for a knot. He wanted so badly to feel his boyfriend's thick fingers against him. He'd hardly played with himself like this and he should've been embarrassed, but this was a night of firsts and he wanted to go to sleep knowing the faintest tease of how good Ryan would feel inside him. “Touch me, Rye.”

 

Ryan had been feeling good from just the humping and the tension of having someone watch him, but the moment he felt the rim of his Omega's virgin hole. He rubbed two fingers across it and his knot throbbed from Ray's surprised gasp and the feel of the muscle fluttering against him. It was kissing his digits, its eager twitching begging silently for more.

 

“Fuck, that's it,” Ray dropped his head back and pushed back into the touch, moving clumsily to feel both the Alpha's cock and fingers against him. Both sensations weren't enough and too much and he huffed in the other's scent to keep him from melting into the carpet. “How the fuck do I not have something up my ass all the time? Jesus fucking Christ. D-Don't put them inside, Rye, or I'm just going to get stiff again.”

 

Ryan's mind was whirring loudly as his breath started coming out in punched out huffs. He was openly admiring the sultry show his Omega was putting on in his lap but his eyes started to unfocus as a fantasy fell over the veil of reality. He stared at his boy's neck and admired the marks from his teeth but he imagined another mark, a deeper one right above his pulse where a certain fat node rested.

 

In his mind's eye he could see a beautiful silver scar proudly shining on Ray's throat, a bond bite that would mark him as loved for the rest of his life. The boy's fingers touched his cheek and he turned his head to kiss them, almost feeling the smooth polished metal of a wedding ring. He constructed a little scene of them like this after work with a home cooked meal in their bellies – matching rings brushing as they made love with soft music in the background, the sun fading in the windows. He wanted to have these intimate moments every day and to be united in all ways.

 

Ryan clutched at his Omega's hips as his climax hit him with a sudden moment of clarity. _I want to share my forever with him._

 

Ryan came down from his pleasured high with every muscle trembling. He spilled hard in his underwear and the mess spread sticky seed all over his groin but he didn't care. His knot had stayed slight so it was only one load. They were both filthy but that didn't stop them from pressing close, warm in each other's embrace. Ray tilted his boyfriend's head up for a slow kiss that made them both sigh. The smell of his Omega's slick and his own finish made him light headed. The tremors faded within them both and they grew lax, simply breathing in each other's scents and basking in the afterglow.

 

Ray broke the liplock to bump their foreheads. “You sound so good when you get off, Rye.”

 

“Ray...”

 

He smiled at his name being said in such an affectionate tone.

 

Ryan wrapped his arm around his boy's waist and rested his cheek against his covered chest, closing his eyes. He was more content in this moment than he had been a long time, rivaled only by the Omega thoroughly scenting him. In both ways he was saturated in his boyfriend's sweet scent. It was deeper now with how completely they all had mixed, warmer and heavy on his tongue. It packed up his lungs and every breath whispered _Ray_ and _mate_. His boy's fingers stroked through his hair to smooth it back away from his face, an Omega sound skittering through his chest.

 

“You gonna' take care of us, Alpha?” Ray cooed, running his thumb just under the man's ear.

 

Ryan nodded and pecked a few kisses across the Lad's chest, savoring the last few moments of his fantasy before he let himself fall into his protective instincts. He held Ray's hands and helped him stand up, tugging back up his boxers. He would need to start some laundry and they needed to clean up but they could all stand to be messy for a few minutes while he got them all together. Ryan got up and walked over to the couch where their sleepy third was laying, cock trying it's best to get hard again.

 

“We should have waited a bit for you,” Ryan laughed softly, helping the Brit to sit up. Dan's body was stiff and he looked exhausted with something more than post-orgasm weariness. He knew there would be some confusion between them but it could wait until tomorrow. Now he wanted them all clean and to go to bed before they fell all over themselves with their weak knees. He put a hand on the base of Dan's back and got him up, snatching Ray's hand along the way as he herded the boys toward the bathroom. “Come on.”

 

“We got jizz _everywhere_ ,” Ray snickered.

 

“I'll clean it up,” Ryan promised, brushing a kiss on the Omega's cheek. “You first, Lad.”

 

He left the two at the bathroom door while he darted into his room and got a fresh set of clothes for each of them, even digging in Dan's duffle to get a shirt that would fit. When he got back he gave Ray a new pair of boxers (almost too big for him) and another tank that was from his high school days, soft and threadbare as it was. The Omega disappeared into the bathroom and the sound of running water followed.

 

Ryan sensed the other Alpha was uneasy. Dan was just standing there, rubbing his eyes with twitchy fingers. He pushed the younger man up against the wall and took his mouth, tongue sliding between the willing lips to try and take away whatever was ailing him. None of them were in the right mindset for the talk he wanted to have so physical affection would have to do. Dan clung to his shoulders and pushed against him more in desperation than in challenge.

 

“Sweet Alpha boy,” Ryan murmured against his lips, pinning him harder and slotting his thigh between the other's legs. He took a fistful of dark hair and urged Dan to scent at his neck. It seemed to quiet him but he felt it was temporary. He wasn't sure if this was the uncertainty of the night or a need to touch, to ground himself. Had leaving him on his own on the couch isolated him? He knew that the biggest risk with submissive Alpha's was letting them drop into the fear that they were being isolated from the group or lesser in some way. He should have kept a better eye on him, he should have made him more involved.

 

Before Ryan could try and fix the problem, Ray emerged from the bathroom looking a little flushed from scrubbing the spunk from his skin and cleaning off the sweat. He had his old clothes in his hands. “Kesha shower, dude.”

 

“Hobo shower,” Ryan corrected, picking up a clean pair of his own boxers and the Brit's sleeveless shirt. He put them in Dan's hands and manhandled him into the shower. “Take a few minutes to yourself, Dan. Put those clothes outside the door. I'm going to clean up.”

 

The other Alpha nodded quickly and went inside, shutting the door behind him. They waited to hear the click of the latch but it never came.

 

Ray thumbed toward the kitchen. “I’m thirsty as hell. You want something to drink?

 

“Please. And for Dan as well.” He took the musky clothes from the Lad and went to the living room to grab their jeans. He heard a door open and close quickly. The utility room was across from the bathroom and he snatched up the clothes Dan had left out before heading inside. He took out the stain remover and sprayed a few wet spots with a smirk before dumping the load into the washer. He would start it up before they went to bed and try to get up early before they mildewed.

 

In the kitchen, Ray pulled open the fridge and winced as the light hit him right in the face. It was dim in the rest of the house and it took his eyes a moment to adjust. He went to grab a Coke but decided for a couple mini bottles of water instead. He compromised with a candy bar out of the cabinet. He stood at the counter munching on his snack and slaking his thirst, listening to the homey sound of a spray bottle in the living room.

 

“It’s sexy when you clean up my jizz!” Ray called.

 

“You shut up.”

 

“What are you going to do? Put me in a hole?” Ray snickered.

 

There was some muttering that sounded like _put your mother in a hole_ and he had to smother his laughter behind his hand. A few quiet minutes went by before Dan came out of the bathroom, hair tossed wildly and heat radiating from his skin. Ray saw him and smiled, tugging the Brit close so he could run his fingers through the tresses, combing them into some semblance of neat.

 

“Tag,” Dan joked weakly as Ryan passed, their shoulders brushing.

 

“Drink something. Ray, give him a bottle.”

 

Ryan ignored the mock salute and closed the door between them. He stripped out of his stained underwear and shirt and let them puddle by the wall. A quick shower was needed, he could feel the sweat drying in his hair and it wasn’t exactly pleasant. The water got hot rather quickly and he cleaned off his more sensitive bits with a few swipes of a washcloth. A dollop of shampoo had lather dribbling over his fingers and just rinsing made him feel cleaner. 

 

Patted dry by one of his better towels, Ryan pulled an old t-shirt over his head and a new pair of boxer briefs that hugged him well. He looked in the mirror and caught his own eye, and in that moment he wondered if he was doing the right thing. He had never wanted to hurt Dan, only show him a trick or two and maybe sate the hunger he had for the young Alpha. The need to touch and bite was still there but now it felt tainted from the lost look Dan had been wearing afterward. He felt good now but he would be guilt-riddled if he’d hurt the other in some way.

 

Ryan left the bathroom and threw his clothes into the washer. He measured out a cap of detergent and added some fabric softener before starting up the load. When he went into the living room to fetch Ray and say goodnight to Dan he found the two pressed up together. His Omega was nuzzling Dan’s neck and hugging him tight, the other smiling softly and rubbing his shoulder.

 

Ray butted his head up against the Brit’s chest and turned his puppy-eyed gaze to Ryan. “I don’t want to leave him by himself.”

 

Ryan’s first response was to bristle. His Omega wanted to bring another Alpha into their bed. A snarl started to curve his lips but he closed his eyes, counted to ten, and when he looked again the primal haze was gone. Standing there was his good friend who’d just shared something very intimate with him and his boyfriend who was picking up the distress signals the other was trying very hard to hide. He had to look at it from Dan’s point of view – he’d just been ruined with a strong orgasm and a brand new Alpha-kink. There was something very tender between them now, something that deserved to be guarded until it had time to flourish.

 

“You’re absolutely right,” Ryan stated firmly. “There’s some sleeping bags and spare bedding in the closets. Why don’t you two grab them all and I’ll go strip the bed.”

 

He left the two boys gaping behind them. When he returned with a copious armful from the bed, he saw the others had piled four sleeping bags and a stack of comforters on the couch.

 

“What are we doing?” Ray asked, clearly confused.

 

“Nesting,” Ryan replied simply. He unlatched the sleeping bags and pushed the couch back as well as the chair to open up the space in front of the TV. When he started spreading the cushy rolls out the other two caught on and quickly followed suit. The sleeping bags were layered on top of one another and then cushioned by the spare comforters, topped off by the soft blankets that smelled like sweet bread from the mixed scents of the couple. Pillows were arranged neatly right in a row as the TV was turned on and Netflix thrown up.

 

When Ray picked _The Walking Dead_ , his boyfriend demanded he turn it down low because he refused to wake up in the middle of a zombie exploding. They argued briefly about picking another show but they stopped when they realized Dan was standing away from the nest while the two of them were already inside it. The controller was put aside and they gestured him to come closer.

 

“Get in here,” Ray coerced.

 

Dan stepped forward reluctantly, arms crossed rather protectively over his chest. The low whine broke Ryan’s heart and he immediately started shushing the young Alpha, the couple both holding out a hand for him. Though it took a few more moments of soft instinctual noises, Dan eventually took each of their hands and let himself be pulled down between them, uncertainty etched in his dark eyes.

 

“Everything is okay,” Ryan swore, laying the Brit down on his side facing the Omega. “We’ll talk about it in the morning. Right now let’s relax.”

 

Dan felt like a spring-loaded toy getting wound up too tight, a cross between unsettled and anxious as a thousand thoughts of _used_ and _separated_ chased around inside his head. His face heated up as Ryan spooned up behind him. Dan fit well against the older man and he wanted to think it was like he was meant to be there but as Ray curled up against his front he remembered that he wasn’t truly apart of this. What if he’d messed everything up? What if things were weird between them now? Extinguishing the flame he’d carried for both of them was one thing, but to lose their friendships would be a wound on his heart. A kiss bussed his cheek and another planted along the back of his neck before Ryan’s arm draped over them, settling at the dip of Ray’s back so he could hold them both closer. They were scenting him, noses skimming across his collar and through his hair, and he rubbed his face in Ray’s dark hair to get a lungful of sweetness that tasted like vanilla cookies on his palate.

 

Ryan and Ray locked eyes and broke out into matching grins before the older turned Dan’s head and bared his throat. They dipped in and rubbed their cheeks on each side of his neck, tongues darting out to lap at a fluttering pulse point. The Brit tensed up and struggled to hold in an embarrassingly high pitched moan when their teeth grazed over his skin in unison. It knocked him back into that submissive headspace that had him bowing under Ryan’s power so easily. He was mindless as he began to scent them in almost vigorously, nuzzling and kissing the crook of Ray’s neck before craning his head back to lick and nip along the older Alpha’s jaw. The couple chuckled kindly and held him closer, allowing him to do whatever he wanted. It was sudden but understandable. Ray remembered that Ryan had mentioned something like this could happen if Dan got overwhelmed. He’d seen the other Lads get like this but never an Alpha, and never someone as easy-going as their friend.

 

“Maybe we should have talked this through first,” Ryan mused as he observed the Brit’s eager behavior. “I thought some spontaneity would make it more enjoyable. I didn’t mean to upset you, Dan.”

 

“I-I’m fine,” Dan wavered, blinking wet eyes up at the Alpha. “I’m sorry, I’ll stop.”

 

Ray frowned and grabbed him by his shirt collar. “Don’t you dare.”

 

Ryan’s chest tickled before a rough, Alpha purred flowed out of him. The two others shivered at the sound. Ryan pet over Dan’s hip to try and soothe him. He knew they had all gone through a lot tonight and that the young pup was kind of fragile, but they weren’t ready to handle a long talk and this was what he could do for him. He reached up and carded his fingers through Ray’s soft hair and met his gaze, searching it for any sort of doubt or hesitation. He found nothing but desire. They were both responsible for this and they’d already shared so much…what was one more thing?

 

“Soothe him for me, sweetheart.”

 

Ryan’s tone was firm but unbearably sweet and Ray happily obeyed, letting his Alpha guide his mouth to Dan’s. The young Alpha’s eyes shot open wide at the first shock of contact and his heart swelled up. The Lad’s lips were soft against his and now that he had the Alpha’s permission he couldn’t stop himself from indulging. It was slow at first but then Ryan used his grip in the boy’s hair to tilt his head, encouraging them to deepen the kiss. Ray’s tongue shyly traced the seam of his lips and Dan parted them just as easily as he had for Ryan.

 

“Show him what we practiced.”

 

The whisper fueled him into action. Dan nibbled lightly at the Omega’s lip before kissing him more firmly, teasing him. He remembered the way Ryan had rubbed him so sensually and he mimicked it with his tongue until the boy moan against his mouth. The Brit felt another engulfing wave of pressure in his chest but it was different now, need instead of terror. Tasting Ray this way was a privilege and beyond the “wonderful experience” Ryan had described it as earlier. The Omega was yielding and open, a hint of sweetness from his snack earlier still lingering. He moved fluidly and it made it all seem so smooth. He wanted more.

 

Dan broke the contact, panting lightly before turning his head to lick over the Alpha’s throat. Ryan murmured some amusement right before Dan started sucking at the swollen gland under his jaw, teeth clamping down without hesitation. The older man’s growl buzzed in their ears. It was a sluttish trick and they all knew it. Ray scooted away and sat up, ready to watch whatever was about to unfold. He recognized the timber of that sound and the body language – the tightening of his jaw, the whitening of his knuckles as they balled into fists.

 

Ryan grabbed Dan by the bottom of the throat so fast the other could only gasp and go lax. He trusted the Alpha not to hurt him and when he was rolled onto his back he stayed there. Ryan swung a leg over his waist and straddled him, letting his weight dig the heel of his palm into the younger Alpha’s windpipe just enough to make him breathless. Dark eyes stared up at him with open desire and he pressed down until the young Alpha wheezed. Whatever had plagued him was gone, distracted by the abrupt act of dominance.

 

Dan whimpered and strained up toward the other man to feel the real strength of his grip. “R-Rye…”

 

“Are you getting greedy on me, little Alpha?” Ryan easily kept him in place. He slid his gaze over to his boyfriend. “I think he is. How should I punish him?”

 

Ray’s eyes were _ravenous_ upon them and he gawked at the way Ryan’s fingers sunk into the young Alpha’s neck. He seemed to be holding his breath and the flush on his cheeks told him that the boy’s heart was racing in anticipation. He smiled at how dazed his Omega was from just a small display of true Alpha nature. “Should I mark him?”

 

“Please.”

 

The strained word came not from Ray’s lips but Dan’s and he was truly surprised. Ryan lightened his grip and his expression softened. He called the young Alpha’s name until he would look right at him. “Do you want me to bite you?”

 

“Yes,” Dan promised. His voice was clear and it sounded convincing.

 

He could feel the rapid thump of the boy’s heart under his fingers and he licked at his canines. “Do you want me to be gentle?”

 

“No.”

 

Ryan rumbled happily and leaned down to nose at Dan’s strong jaw, coaxing the other’s head back to show off the line of his throat. It was beautiful and smooth, the fading redness from other, lesser nips only serving as a leading trail to the spot he wanted. There was a patch of untouched flesh below his Adam’s apple that had a good bite of meat to it and he knew that was where he wanted to put his mark. A brand to warn off all others. It was disgustingly primitive but he thirsted for the satisfaction.

 

Hot breath washed over the chosen area and he relished the way Dan visibly shuddered, skin prickling expectantly. Ryan glanced at Ray to see his Omega biting his lip, waiting on edge for what was to come. He lapped over the blood-hot flesh to make it shine and just _barely_ grazed his teeth across it. From the sounds the young Alpha was making his movements were sensitizing the spot just how he’d intended. He kept dragging his canines until pretty pink lines bloomed, each drag harder than the last in a slow press to get him ready. Ryan wet his lips and kissed the skin, suckling to make it color up, bringing the blood up to the surface. Dan was pawing weakly at his shoulders and breathing out his name in a gorgeous plea that made his cock twitch. It was ritualistic, something he’d imagined many times and had only indulged with on rougher one night stands who didn’t mind a mark. This was much more sensual, more loving ritual than he’d ever shared with one of them.

 

This was something he’d dreamed about doing with Ray, and now was a good chance to test the waters and satisfy his craving.

 

Ryan dug his teeth in and slowly latched his jaw, groaning against the young Alpha’s throat as he felt flesh yield under his teeth. He didn’t break the surface but there was a lovely yield and one of Dan’s sweet moans to accompany it. The Brit bucked up against him only once before he went slack, eyes closed and face rapt in pleasure.

 

Ray chewed on the bend of his thumb, pupils blown out and breath shaky as he observed the perfect display of submission. It was like Joel but so much better. They looked like they belonged together, bodies slotting together well and Dan’s body lovingly curling around the older Alpha’s. A sound like a soft growl was coming from the Brit as his fingers fiddled lightly with blonde hair and their legs entwined, dark and light hair meeting. 

 

“Ryan,” Dan stressed the name like a deep ache was being massaged out of him, baring his throat and getting a quick clench of canines that made his eyes flutter open. When Ryan finally released him he left behind a dark red impression of his teeth, the Brit’s skin holding firm but surely bruised. It would be ugly to others but Ryan would be cooing over it for days. He touched it reverently and smiled, tongue darting over his teeth to chase the faint taste of the other’s skin. Dan slowly turned his head and smiled up at the Alpha. He looked blissed out, all traces of his earlier anxiety gone and this time it seemed to be for good. Every muscle was loose, his eyes were clear, and his smile was sweeter than any he'd ever seen on the boy's handsome face.

 

“Feel better?” Ryan asked, keeping his weight on one hand while he ran his knuckles over the slight stubble on the man's jaw.

 

“Much,” Dan croaked.

 

“ _How_ do you feel?” Ryan prompted curiously, hoping the submission had cured his uneasiness. It had certainty appeased his inner Alpha.

 

“Like 'm floating a bit,” Dan admitted, blinking a few times to clear the fog. “Bloody hell – if being shot felt good, that's what it would be like.”

 

Ryan was glad to hear full sentences again. _There's my boy._ He watched Dan's eyes fall shut as he hummed, another crop of goosebumps breaking out over his skin.

 

“Feels so good, Rye,” Dan murmured, grunting softly in appreciation as his hair was scratched through.  His thumb grazed the bite mark and he dipped down to gently lick at it, tasting the heat. It would throb with every heartbeat. The endorphin rush was knocking the Brit for a loop.

 

A small chitter caught their attention. While Dan was still trying to catch his breath and was riding the high submitting had given him, Ray had started to feel a bit left out and had got up on his hands and knees to crawl over to them. He laced their fingers in Dan's hand and nuzzled up under Ryan's jaw where the faint bitemark still glowed. He pricked his Omega canines against the node much more lightly than he had that day in the office. When he spoke his voice was pitiful with desire. “I want it too.”

 

“Does my boy want a pretty mark too?” Ryan chuckled, voice low and still tingling with a growl. He snagged his Omega by the neck and laid him out beside Dan, his grip lighter than he'd used on the Alpha. Ray was his sweet one, his mate, and he wouldn't risk rougher treatment until they'd been in bed a few times. Dan was a tough one and had expressed his need well in a believable way. He knew Ray, he knew his boy wanted everything _now_ and it made him antsy to wait for something he thought everyone else was doing. To that advantage he knew Ray's body language, the tones of his scent and voice, and knew when “maybe” meant “no”. He enjoyed some rough handling and it proved they were meant for one another because Ryan loved to dish it out.

 

And the brat knew that a bite to _that_ particular gland was a plea for sex. He'd explained it in great lengths before after their incident at his desk.

 

Ray looked over at Dan and saw the indent on his neck and his mouth went dry. The Alpha's teeth were glorified on that soft flesh. He plucked off his glasses and put them safely on the carpet before he smiled up at his boyfriend. “Give me one like that, Rye. We should match. Team Pranks, man.”

 

Dan shook his head. “Naff.”

 

“Fuck you, you come up with a better name,” Ray scoffed playfully. “Team Same Bite?”

 

Dan's mind felt like a pile of fluff but he nodded eagerly, yearning for it as well. The two them were gorgeous in the way they looked at one another and seemed to have a private conversation, the light furrow of Ryan's brows meeting Ray's cocky smile. They complimented one another, youth and experience and pure adoration all wrapped up between two beings. It felt as if the world had narrowed down to the three of them, and they were his sun which he could not look away from. Ryan's face darkened in concentration as he looked over the Omega's bared throat, eyes flickering over every inch and lingering on the bite he'd given the boy to make him come. He seemed to be mulling over the questions of the universe and they all resided in where he rested his canines. Ray was so beautiful squirming under his Alpha's hand with his eagerness to feel the sting. 

 

“I won't bruise you like that.” Ryan tucked his thumb and forefinger under his boyfriend's jaw the moment he started to protest, pressing hard on his glands to make them swell and pump a wave of endorphins right to his brain. Ray cooed happily and stretched himself out to trap the Alpha's hips between his thighs. It pressed their groins together and they could feel the faint hardness where their flesh couldn't keep up with their desire.

 

“You like this,” Ray teased with a wicked grin.

 

Ryan pursed his lips but there was humor in his eyes. “Do you want it or not, you little shit?”

 

“Yeah, yeah. Give me the kiddy-version.”

 

Ryan was slow in his descent and both boys held their breath as he repeated the process he'd done with Dan but he didn't draw it out as long. The evidence of why was that when he bit down it was much more tame than the deep mark that Dan proudly wore. Ray blushed all over and gasped despite the lowered severity. He rolled up against Ryan and rubbed the plump curve of his cock over the man's stomach. “Fucking _shit_ , Rye.”

 

Dan winced at the bolt of jealousy that went through him but it was smothered up with admiration. Ray's body made a beautiful arch up against the Alpha. Ryan's hands looked huge on the other's hips and they fanned down to the plush of his thighs, letting the Omega ride the sensation. He released Ray's throat and kissed it tenderly, licking over the slight ridges to seal in his scent before capturing the Lad's lips in a fierce kiss that stole Dan's breath. They both whined deep in their throats as the Alpha's gaze burned over them both.

 

Ryan's presence swallowed up the two boys. He took time to kiss and lick their marks so they would smell of him for days. Noses nuzzled into sore scent glands and hands rubbed over scratched skin, kisses passing between the three of them like water as they started to wind down from all the fervor. Ryan got the blanket he'd brought from the bedroom and when he turned around Ray had his mouth slanted hard over Dan's own, delving in deep to get a better taste than before.

 

“Boys,” Ryan scolded very gently as pull the blanket up over the three of them. “There'll be lots of time to do the kissy-kissy tomorrow. We still have to go to work in the morning.”

 

“Don't wanna,” Ray replied petulantly before going back in for another kiss. Dan laughed and put a thumb over the Omega's mouth. “Not you too! You guys can't gang up on me. I call shenanigans.”

 

“How 'bout we gang up on him instead?” Dan offered with a cocky tilt of his head.

 

Ryan could tell the two were putting up an act. Their eyes were heavy and there was a forced tightness to their smiles. The poor things were worn out and for good reason. It had been a big night for all of them. He let himself get pulled between them and laughed at how their hands bunched in his shirt and their noses grazed his shoulder and chest to take in his scent.

 

“Yeah, you guys win. Just too much for me,” Ryan gave in, wrapping an arm around his Omega and bringing him up under his arm. Ray got clingy during the night, always looking for a scent spot to bury his face next to and warmth to wrap around. He buried a hand in Dan's dark hair and offered him his other side. Ray trilled against his skin when the Brit didn't bother to pause before snuggling up against the older Alpha. One of his hands laid on Ray's side and Ryan was happy to see it there beside his own.

 

They had a lot to discuss about what this was, where this was going, but it could all wait just one more night.

 

* * *

 

 **I worked super hard on this chapter and it was a long time coming and I would love to hear your thoughts on it even if it's just keyboard smashing *holds breath in anticipation***  

**BTW:[Timeline](http://emono-omae.tumblr.com/post/99261946051/timeline-for-id-like-it-better-if-i-could-win-at-it) has been kind of fixed cause I know there were some broken links but keep in mind I did not write this story with a true timeline in place, just vague inclinations. So it's not perfect.**

 

 


	69. Geoff, Michael, and Gavin IX

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin wants Michael to move in, Michael wants to be mates, and Geoff has to exercise his rights as Alpha. The word "love" is thrown around a lot.
> 
> (How Geoff, Michael, and Gavin moved in together. Takes place before Dan visits for the second time. Check the timeline.)

[ **Timeline check!!** ](http://emono-omae.tumblr.com/post/99261946051/timeline-for-id-like-it-better-if-i-could-win-at)

  
**As always, please forgive spelling mistakes.**

 

* * *

 

 

Geoff switched positions for what felt like the hundredth time that night. He flipped onto his side and gathered up the comforter to bury his face and arms. Faint traces of Michael sweet cherry scent lingered in the threads but it wasn't the same. He'd been half asleep and dozing for hours but he couldn't seem to find rest. It had been a stressful day at work with a marathon of recording and his Omega had decided to go back to his own apartment for the night. He knew Michael was probably just snoozing on the couch with Netflix on and some half eaten snack on his stomach but he couldn't seem to press down the urge to be there with him. He missed Michael's warmth, his soft breaths, even the way he'd grumble while he was dreaming and swing his body around without concern for anyone else in the bed. Waking up with a bruise or two was worth it if he could to nuzzle into the boy's fragrant ginger curls all night.

 

The door clicked and he cracked open an eye. It was slow going but eventually ruffled hair and tired green eyes peeked through the crack.

 

“Alpha?” his boy whispered, afraid to wake him.

 

Geoff gestured him over and lifted the covers. Gavin quickly shut the door and crawled into bed with a relieved sigh, snuggling up to the Alpha's side and butting his head up under his chin. Geoff wrapped an arm around him as he got settled in and the clear shorn flower scent calmed the restlessness that had plagued him the past few hours. It wasn't quite perfect but it was close.

 

“I miss Michael at night,” Gavin whined into his bare chest, hands kneading along his ribs.

 

“I do too,” Geoff admitted. He rolled onto his back and let the Omega cover him even more, the boy's mouth close to his pulse so he could take big gulps of his scent.

 

As Gavin gradually fell asleep, the Alpha's mind was whirring. _This can't go on._

 

o0o0o0o

 

Geoff dropped Gavin off at the office and went back out to pick Michael up. He ignored the questions from his Omega and shooed him out of the car. He needed to talk to his other boy alone and they wouldn't get a moment's rest with how gossipy and close their friends were. So, with the fiery redhead loaded up and trapped in his vehicle, he made his proposition.

 

“You should move in with us.”

 

Michael laughed in his face and he couldn't help but feel stung. The hurt must have showed on his face because the Omega rushed to explain himself. “I'd drive you guys nuts, dude. It would never work out.”

 

“How the hell do you know that?” Geoff demanded, knuckles tight on the steering wheel. “We've been doing just fine so far and you're there most of the week anyway. The only change it's going to be is that you won't have to spend half your paycheck for that shitty apartment.”

 

“My apartment's not shitty,” Michael countered weakly. “And I need some place I can go for some privacy.”

 

“You hate being alone,” the Alpha pointed out with a smug pull to his mouth.

 

Michael pursed his lips and hunched into his seat, glaring out the window like a pouting child. “I don't want to smother Gavin. We're finally sharing you and I don't want to intrude on his territory or whatever.”

 

“You're nesting in his fucking room, you little shit. That's not an excuse!”

 

“I don't need an excuse!” Michael shot back, arms folding over his chest defensively. “I'm not a live-in Omega. I need my own space away from you, maybe even more now if you're going to push this shit on me.” He showed off small, Omegan canines. “You fucking knotheads – you're always trying to herd us into one place so we're nice and available, huh? I've never listened to Alphas and I'm not going to start now.”

  
Geoff softened. “Michael, I really don't think you understand. I'm not trying to control you, I just think it's what we all want. I get that you're scared, it's a big step. If you'd just think about it-”

 

“The answer is _no_ , Geoff!” Michael snarled.

 

The venom in his boy's voice made him shut his mouth. “Just promise me you'll think about it?”

  
Michael's usually warm eyes were ice cold when they fell upon him and in that moment he would've done anything to take it back. “One more word about it and it's _never_.”

 

o0o

 

Michael couldn't talk to Geoff for the rest of the day for fear that he would break down into tears and tell him the truth. After lunch he silently sat beside his Alpha on the couch in the office and rubbed his cheek against his shoulder. Though the older man sighed, he allowed the Omega to cuddle up against him and bury his face in his back.

 

 _Please don't get tired of me_ , Michael prayed, the Gent's shirt absorbing any hint of wetness that clung to his lashes. A big hand rubbed his knee and he chittered delicately. He wished he had less pride, that he could swallow the lump in his throat and tell his Alpha how sorry he was for being a brat. But if he said one word he knew he would confess his darkest fears.

 

Michael glanced at Gavin, his boy perched on Ray's desk and chatting. He was so cute with that bright smile and those mile long legs. His Alpha now had another beautiful Omega to choose from and if Michael lost his novelty, his shine, then maybe he'd lose the best thing to ever happen to him. He knew it was stupid, that his boyfriends loved him, but the notion was hard to shake. Biologically they weren't meant to share mates and that age old need for competition was hindering any progress they could make.

 

Living with Geoff was something he'd just have to keep dreaming about.

 

o0o0o0o

 

When Gavin was called to the podcast set, Michael went along with him. He perched on the arm of the couch while an intern miced his boyfriend up. They held hands, fingers laced tight together and tucked along the cushion to hide it as much as they could in a room full of people. Gavin chattered on and complained about the others being late and how sweet his boy was to come along to keep him company while Gus and the crew dragged their asses.

 

Michael was only half listening and the quick words faded completely when he looked down at their fingers. A frown came across his face as a thought struck him. “Gav, I love you.”

 

Gavin squawked loudly and a couple people looked over. He was completely thrown by the sudden statement. They hadn't said those words since the morning where they'd gotten each other off in his bed and he hadn't expected to hear them again. Michael was great with physical affection but sometimes words were difficult for him, for both of them really. “W-What?”

 

“I love you, asshole, and so does Geoff.” Michael scooted down, practically crouched over his boyfriend so their foreheads bumped. “And I don't want to fuck around anymore. I think we've done enough of that for a lifetime. I want you to be our mate.”

 

“ _Mate_?” Gavin repeated dumbly. “Bloody hell, Michael, that's serious.”

 

“We've courted you. And I know we haven't been all three together very long but it's not like we're trying to get to know each other.” His nose crinkled up petulantly. “It's a good thing, right? It's something you want?”

 

Gavin opened his mouth to reply but the words stuck hard in his throat. He closed his mouth and looked away and then Michael _knew_. He was stunned. “You still think we're going to drop you. After all this time, you actually think we're not serious.”

 

“It's not you guys,” Gavin tried to assure him but there was a tremble in his voice that gave him away.

 

“That's why we haven't had sex!”

 

“Michael!” Gavin hissed, hands fluttering up to block the Omega's mouth only to get swatted away. “Keep it down, for Christ's sake.”

 

“You think we're using you,” Michael uttered, the glisten of his eyes and the pull of his full lips reeking of devastation. He surged forward and kissed Gavin so hard he was afraid his lip would split but it was so full of passion that he had to swoon into him. The other Omega's palms cradled his jaw and when the kiss broke there was only a hairsbreadth of space between them. “I fucking love you, boy. You are actually my other half and I know it's true because it fucking hurts being away from you. Geoff is your Alpha and I'm your Omega and you should be ours.”

 

The next kiss was far more sweet and he melted, brain shut down until all he could think was, _My Michael, oh, my boy._

 

“We want to be yours,” Michael promised, running his thumbs tenderly under the Brit's eyes to feel the hot flush of his skin.

 

“It's such a big step,” Gavin muttered. The moment the words slipped from his lips he knew he'd said the wrong thing. A shadow passed over his boy's face and he got to his feet, batting away the hands that grasped at him. “Michael!”

 

Michael left without another word and his heart dropped hard into the pit of his stomach.

 

o0o

 

It didn't take long for rumor of his boyfriends argument to circulate through the building until it trickled into the AH office. Michael had gone home without so much as a goodbye and Gavin was moping somewhere. Geoff waited patiently. He smiled as he watched Ryan pull Ray into is lap and begin to groom the boy with quiet compliments, happy Omegan chirps coming out of the boy as his hair was scratched through and his cheeks were stroked. They nuzzled and chastely kissed as they enjoyed their break, too wrapped up in each other to notice anything else. He was happy for them, really he was, and he couldn't wait for the day they were mates themselves. The two made a handsome couple and they complimented each other as partners, as people.

 

Ray was gently nibbling a tiny mark under the collar of his boyfriend's shirt when Gavin finally showed up. Geoff stood with a little huff and nodded when Ryan shot him a curious look. “Can you two give us a minute?”

 

Ray, the sweet dazed little boy, lifted his head with a slight frown. “Is everything okay?”

 

“Come on, brat, let's let the grown-ups talk,” Ryan joked as he helped his boyfriend to his feet and led him past the Brit. “We'll find Jack. We've got an LP to record, after all.”

 

“Another one?” Ray whined, the sound fading as the door was shut and locked behind them. Gavin looked a little pale around the edges and he picked at the hem of his shirt while his Alpha stared at him.

 

“Did I do something wrong, Geoff?”

 

“No,” Geoff promised as he sat back down. He gestured for his boy to do the same but it seemed he was too full of nerves to do anything but stand there and shift his weight from one foot to the other in an anxious jig. “I heard Michael jumped the gun and asked you to be our mate.”

 

Gavin chewed his lip for a few moments before he tried for casual. “Yeah, before the cast. He was getting a bit ahead of himself, is all.”

 

“No, he's right. We do. I want you to be my Omega.”

 

Gavin's jaw went slack at the older man's casual tone. Nothing in Geoff's body said that he was lying or exaggerating. He was lax, open, the slight smile on his lips giving him butterflies that ate up his nerves and replaced them with flutters of anticipation.

 

“Are you serious?”

 

“Of course I am,” Geoff snorted like he had a thousand times when Gavin was being an idiot. “But I would've done it with more flare. You know – cooked you dinner, rubbed you down with some hot oil, and ate you out until you made that high pitched squeal you do when you get it real good.”

  
Gavin's face burned so hotly he had to rub at them, willing the flush away.

 

“But he already asked so I might as well too.” Geoff shrugged, but there was something bright in his eyes that made the Omega’s heart titter. “We both want you, Gavvy, but it’s up to you.”

 

“How can I be mates with someone who won’t even move into the same house as me?”

 

The quiet confession felt like a breathless sucker punch for both of them. They stood there for a few long, breathless moments where they could only stare at the floor and _breathe_ because the truth was potent. When Gavin managed to look up he found his Alpha smiling at him with open arms. The suffocating binds on his lungs and heart snapped, his next breath coming much easier than every one he’d taken since his argument with Michael. He rushed into the older man’s arms and carefully taken into his lap, strong fingers carding through his styled hair and over his shoulder blades. He hummed and buried his face in Geoff’s shirt to inhale the fresh, hot-metal scent that had grown so familiar over the past few years. A palm laid along his left side, just under his arms and over the bumps of his ribs, and it was an instantaneous cure that left him boneless. It was his grounding sweet spot and Geoff only used it for moments like this. His hair was kissed and he lulled his head to the side to get one on his lips.

 

“Is that really what’s been bothering you?” Geoff crooned, their noses brushing before the boy nodded and hid his face in his shoulder. “Poor thing. You’ve been hiding this the whole time, haven’t you? What a terrible Alpha I am, I should’ve picked up on it. You shouldn’t keep things like this from me, it’s only going to build up and hurt you.”

 

“ ‘M sorry,” Gavin muttered.

 

Geoff stroked through his hair again to feel the fine strands tickle his fingers. “You just want some stability, don’t you, Omega?” Gavin shivered against him and he shushed him, hand splayed over the dip of his lower back to keep the boy tight and firm in his lap. “Alright, alright. I can fix this, baby boy. I can make it all better. But I need your help, okay?”

 

Gavin managed to take himself away from the Alpha’s scent gland long enough to frown softly at him. “What are you going to do? I-I’ll do anything, Alpha.”

 

“I need you to trust me.” Geoff’s voice lowered and tucked a thumb under the Brit’s chin to raise up his head, stormy eyes boring into his own. “I need you to give yourself to me like Michael does. I don’t want to knot you, not yet, but I want all of you.”

 

Gavin gasped when the man’s thumb dug into his cheek, liquid heat drizzling through his muscles as he grew pliant for his Alpha. He could clearly remember Michael, his sweet boy, moaning on Geoff’s cock with his smooth length wrapped in a silver ring to keep him from spilling. The surrender on his beautiful face, the slackness of his lips and the hot flush of his skin – is that what Geoff wanted from him?

 

“You want me to submit?”

 

Geoff nodded and searched the Brit’s face for any hesitation, for a sigh that his boy was agreeing without truly giving his consent. The pure desire that filled those dazzling eyes made him puff him like a proud feline. His boy wanted him – wanted _this_ – and he wanted to crow in triumph. Gavin rubbed up against him and pressed a wet kiss to his mouth.  
  
“I can do that,” the Omega purred, chest rumbling against his own. “Oh, love, I can do that for you and my boy.”

 

“Good.” Geoff brushed their cheeks, scent clinging to bristles and staining their skin. “If you're uncomfortable with any of it, tell me, but I was thinking...”

 

o0o

 

Michael heaved the pack of beer onto his shoulder and fumbled with the keys for a while before he got the right one in the lock. He pushed the door open with his hip and went inside, kicking off his shoes and tossing the D-ring on the table before bumping closed again. The musky sex scent hit his nose and he paused, dark brows knitting up.

 

The first thing he noticed was that the coffee table and chair had been pushed aside.

 

The second thing was that Geoff was standing in the middle of the living room and he wasn't alone. The Alpha was fully dressed, biceps bulging impressively along the tight line of sleeves. He recognized that look – that look always resulted in a hot, red welts and a sore throat, Alpha seed smeared across his lips and dripping out of his used hole. But it was the sight beside his boyfriend that made his cheeks flush and his mouth go dry.

 

Gavin was kneeling naked beside the Alpha's feet, head lowered and tilted to the side to show off his marked up neck. Geoff had left hot blossoms of color all across his long throat and there were more bites and scratches down his chest and sides, even making it to the outside of his thighs. His knees were parted, exposing his long, smooth cock and it's wet tip. He was flushed but there were minute shivers going through his lanky body as he tried to stay still. He was obviously scent drunk. Tattooed fingers were carding through sweaty, golden locks and he was trying not to push up into it like an eager kit.

 

“Playing without me,” Michael tried to joke but it fell flat, cock stirring painfully in the tight restraint of his jeans. He sniffed the air and let out an Alpha-esque growl. His boy was slick and he could smell the mulled wine scent Geoff had described to him. It was like huffing potpourri with a heavy dollop of honey – almost sweet, and rich. He set down the beer and adjusted himself, breath already starting to pick up. And that position – on his knees, showing throat – was one of the sexiest things he'd ever seen. He wanted to go over and fine tune it, to guide his boy to clasps his hands behind him and straighten his back. There was an aesthetic to bodily submitting. Geoff had taught him well and he'd loved it from the first gentle correction. It was something he wanted to share with their Omega.

 

“It seems we've reached a dillema,” Geoff rumbled, a growl rolling just under his words. The Brit huffed in agreement but didn't say a word. Michael chewed the side of his lip. If Gavin was beyond words at this point then their Alpha must have been working him over for a while. “We've had quite the evening discussing it. You're little stunt earlier on the podcast wasn't appreciated.”

 

Michael puffed up. “I was just telling him how much we love him. What the hell's wrong with that?”

 

“Michael,” Geoff snapped his name like a bite and he jerked back. “Be quiet. Alpha's talking.”

 

Liquid warmth dripped into his stomach and he nodded obediently.

 

“Now, Gavin won't agree to be our mate because he feels like you're not committed to this, to us,” Geoff continued on with that same authoritative tone that had both his Omegas hanging off every word. “And you don't want to move in because you're afraid you'll smother us. And _I_ think we're all just being pussies about it.”

 

Michael sucked his teeth, tongue darting along his small fangs. He wanted to say something but he'd been ordered to shut up once and with _that_ look combined with _that_ body language – he'd be put over his boyfriend's knee before he finished his sentence. He wasn't sure if he was ready for Gavin to see him get spanked to tears over their boss's lap.

 

“So I'll be the Alpha and I'll man up and start it.”

 

“What is this?” Michael demanded, eyes sticking to the lean line of his boy's thighs and how tightly his scarred sack was to his body. How long had he been kept on edge? How long had their Alpha kept him simmering? The fact that Gavin was stripped bare was making his stomach tight in the best way. The hair he enjoyed petting looked like a thick treasure trail that ended in the soft patch of curls at the base of his needy dick and spread lightly over his legs. As it spread from the core of his lap the hair turned into blonde peach fuzz. He wanted to rub his hands all over him but Geoff's gaze was cutting into him and he had to keep his resolve.

 

“ _This_? This is an evening well spent. We had dinner and he got a nice massage, and he got to watch TV at my feet like a good boy.” Gavin cooed lightly as his hair was lovingly stroked once more. “While you were fucking around, I got this sweet little brat to make the most fantastic sounds from just playing with his smooth knob. He got all wet for me – still is. Are you tender, love??”

 

Gavin nodded, fingertips brushing over a bite-mark next to a stiff, dark nipple. Michael had missed that one among the pelt on his boyfriend's chest but the longer he looked the more he saw. Geoff's handy work was evident by the swollen peaks and the crop of goosebumps on the Brit's belly.

 

“ _This_ is your Omega, Michael,” Geoff stated with a snarl that showed off his canines. He fisted a handful of light hair and Gavin cried out at the sudden pain. The Omega reared up and tears filled his eyes, hands scrambling up to hold onto Geoff's wrists. He didn't make a move to pull away but he needed the ground skin-to-skin contact. “And he wants you here.”

 

Michael's hands twitched at his sides and he swayed where he stood, the rush of pheromones in his system making him dizzy. He could smell how turned on he was. His eyes fell between the other Omega's legs again, the pink tip of his cock peeking from the sheath of the extra skin he'd gotten familiar with over the past few months. “Gav?”

 

There was a smugness in Geoff's dark gaze. “He comes into bed every night whining your name and I'm fucking sick of it. You should be there for him. That's what mates do.”

 

Michael lost himself in that particular image before he found his voice again. “Is this a bribe?”

 

“This is an offer,” Geoff scoffed, fingers drawing out of the Omega's wild hair. His knuckles brushed along his lightly bristled cheek. “Turn around, boy. Show yourself to your mates.”

 

Gavin’s breath hiccuped as his hair was released but he choked out a _yes, sir_ between the sputters. Michael’s jaw fucking _dropped_ as their youngest turned around and got on his hands and knees. The carpet must have felt rough under his knees and palms but Gavin didn’t complain. His cock was plump with blood but it didn’t have the Alpha heft to hang between his legs. Instead it dripped onto the floor and smeared uselessly against his furry stomach, straining to be touched and enticing the other two to take a lick.

 

Geoff clicked his tongue and raised a sock clad foot to settle in the middle of the Lad’s shoulder blades. When he didn’t move right away he barked at him. “Get lower. Present properly, Omega, I’ve taught you better.”

 

Michael had to bite his lip hard to keep the whimper from escaping him. He rubbed a hand just above the growing bulge in his jeans and tried not to fall to his knees right there in front of the door. He muttered a curse as he watched Gavin nod quickly and get low on his elbows, forehead pressed to the carpet. He was sweating and it made him damn near _shine_ under the dimmed living room lights. There was slick shimmering along the insides of his thighs but they weren’t quite spread enough to properly expose the source.

 

Geoff dug his heel into the soft spot on his spine. “Not good enough, boy. We want to see how pretty you bend.”

 

Gavin whined at the growing pressure and finally complied. He dropped his chest flat to floor and raised his ass high, parting his legs to cant up his hips. His loose, wet hole pulled at the motion and gaped to show how ready he was to receive their seed. It was so purely Omega and Michael was drooling on himself in awe. If anyone else had put their feet like that on his boy to get him to obey he would’ve been livid. But this was their Alpha and it was so _hot_. He could really see how wet Gavin was now. The Brit’s hole was eagerly twitching to let loose clear, thin drops of slick that carved wet paths down his balls until it joined his pre-cum on the carpet. It was the most delicious thing he could ever remember seeing and he knew he was getting scent drunk too but he needed this. He wanted his Alpha to let him taste, to guide him between their young Omega’s thighs and show him how best to make him scream.

 

“Look at what’s going to be waiting for you every day when you move in. Every morning, every night…” Geoff trailed off, eyes raising from the young Omega’s presentation to Michael’s open appreciation. He waited for his boy to truly look at him before he continued. “He wants you so bad late at night, baby boy. He gets all wet and messy and rubs up against me, half-asleep and whimpering for his Michael.”

 

Michael had to brace himself against the wall as an overwhelming wave of heat threatened to melt him from the inside out. “T-This is dirty fighting, even for you.”

 

“None of this is fair,” Geoff tisked. “I won’t fuck him without you, I swear it, but it’s damn hard to resist because he smells so fucking good.”

 

Micheal’s knees knocked weakly and he stumbled forward, an unbearable heaviness sinking into his limbs. He wanted to pant at his Alpha’s feet and be forced into the same position as the other Omega so they matched. “Geoff…”

 

“You move in here and we buy a bigger bed,” Geoff offered as he took his heel off the Brit’s back and patted his ass for being good. “Gavin here has agreed to move out of his room and to officially be our mate but he won’t do any of that unless you’re here too. He needs both of us, just like we need him.”

 

The old insecurity of being left behind went up in smoke. How could anyone get tired of _this_? Seeing Gavin submitting and their Alpha standing above, so proud and pleased – it was the ultimate thrill, and it made his heart swell up with affection. These were his boyfriends, his mates, and he loved them both so much no matter how difficult it was to say out loud. Though the bottom of his feet felt numb he still managed to walk over to Geoff and sink into his arms, purring against his chest and nuzzling the muscle beneath his shirt. He tilted his head up and a hard kiss was pushed against his mouth, a gesture which he received with overflowing gratitude. His lower lip was nibbled until he let the Alpha’s tongue slide in to tangle with his own, the wet slide only slipping him further into his own head.

 

“You want to taste our boy?”

 

Michael nodded enthusiastically though he never looked away from his Alpha’s dark eyes.

 

Geoff lowered his voice and tucked a thumb under the Omega’s jaw. “Are you going to be good for Daddy and make him come all over the floor?”

  
“God yes, please,” Michael breathed. The Alpha chuckled and had him kneel down on the floor behind Gavin, the young Omega whining softly under his breath as he obediently held the position he’d been put in. Geoff sat down beside the Brit so he could rub his arched back while he curled a hand along Michael’s nape, urging him forward after the boy unbuckled his belt and pants to ease the pressure on his dick. The pink flesh slipped from the flap of his boxers but was ignored.

 

“You can play with that pretty dick while you eat him out,” Geoff allowed, smirking at the boy’s sigh of relief before he started fingering the tip just to feel something against him. “You can’t come until he does though. This is about our boy.”

 

Michael nodded and put both his hands on Gavin’s cheeks, eyes stuck to the slick hole waiting for him. “Yes, sir.”

 

The first lick made them all moan but Michael couldn’t stop at just one. His tongue darted around and lapped up all the slick the on his soft skin before he dove into his core, playing with the fluttering ring of muscle in the filthiest kiss. Gavin was already open and he seemed to suck in his tongue in a demand for more. Michael closed his eyes and curled a hand around his own cock as he finally speared his tongue and reached inside, curling tightly along the slick walls to taste everything he could.

 

Geoff was whispering suggestions but mostly he watched with hungry eyes, fingers digging into the older Omega’s neck like a praise. He saw how Gavin was shaking and knew his boy’s muscles were starting to strain so he decided to speed things up. They could take their time later when they weren’t all worked up to their bursting points. He wrapped a hand around Gavin’s cock and the Omega chirped, startled, before he started to rock into it.

 

“Good boy. Fuck my fist,” Geoff ordered gruffly, squeezing Michael harder in a silent command to work their boy harder. Michael took to it with passion, working his own cock and quickening his tongue, teeth grazing along the sensitive rim to make the other Omega keen. Slick dripped steadily and he drank down every drop without hesitation. There was a thick coil of lust curling between his legs but his boy needed to go first.

 

Gavin became a useless, squirming pile of lust on the floor but he kept position, whimpering _Alpha_ and _Michael_ repeatedly like he didn’t know anything else. Michael’s tongue was greedy and so _strong_ inside him, the hint of Omega canines only getting him hotter. Geoff’s hand was perfectly tight – the position was wrong to really rut into the curl of fingers but he had enough friction to give him what he needed. He humped and whimpered and cursed his way to the edge, teeth grit the whole way as his senses were swamped with the combined scent and heat of his mates.

 

 _Mates._ Gavin shivered and cooed at the thought, mouth falling open as the tension finally hit a peak. “A-Alpha, I… _Michael_ , pl-please, I can’t…”

 

“That’s it.”

 

The lusty growl from his Alpha had him moaning and spilling hard into the carpet. His seed splashed across the floor and he thought his thighs had gone boneless from how weak and tingly they felt. Michael’s tongue was so slick and he felt himself trying to bare down on it like it was a cock, body wanting to milk and pleasure whatever had made it feel so good. A blanket seemed to lay across his brain and everything was processed through a heavy layer of fluff, fingers and toes tingling pleasantly as he came down from his high. There was warmth all through him and he wanted to curl up with his mates to be pet and loved, to remember that they cared for him and he wasn’t a toy to sit between them.

 

That last thought popped into oblivion as his Alpha’s voice poured into his ear. “Why don’t you turn over and give Michael somewhere pretty to bust his nut?”

 

Gavin felt like his blood had been replaced with lead but he wanted it – _oh_ how he wanted it. With his Alpha’s sure hands to guide him, he was turned over onto his back and his legs carelessly fell apart. Geoff murmured for him to open his eyes and the sight that greeted him made his softening cock visibly twitch. Michael had shucked his pants down mid-thigh and now he was jerking his dick. The other Omega was flushed so prettily and his eyes were blown out, mirroring his own. Though Michael wasn’t the one laid bare to be painted with cum, he was just as bound by Geoff’s Alpha presence as Gavin was and the soft expression on his face told it all. Bitten-red lips parted and he barely managed to keep his eyes open as he started to come. He leaned forward and hunched over Gavin’s sprawled form, one hand milking his dick while the other braced on the floor so he didn’t fall over. A full body shudder wracked him as he spurted onto tan thighs and the other Omega’s limp cock, scent pouring off him in heavy waves as the last strings of tension snapped.

 

Geoff pet through shorn ginger curls as his Omegas both shivered and nuzzled against each other on the floor. They were wrecked, all glassy-eyed and limp and covered in spunk. Michael was nuzzling at his boy’s stomach while Gavin tried to rub his shoulders but they were both too weak to do anything to properly comfort one another. Geoff didn’t want to push them anymore than he already had but there was one more stretch in front of them, one last submission so they knew who their Alpha was. He got up and walked just a few feet to sit down on the couch. “Why don’t my good boys come over here so I can show them how much they mean to me?”

 

“G-Geoff?” Michael stuttered, blinking owlishly up at him from behind his glasses. The frames were pushed off his face and fell to the floor as he rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. He helped Gavin sit up and spotted the goosebumps that popped up on his exposed skin from cold instead of pleasure. Michael took off his hooded jacket and wiggled the stubborn Brit into it, zipping it only part way so that if their Alpha felt like playing with the swollen nubs on his chest he would have easy access. They half-crawled, half-staggered their way to the couch and were met with steady hands to lead them up onto the cushions.

 

Geoff them in close so they each straddled one of his thighs and had a side of his neck to scent. He rubbed along their backs and hair, brushing his lips over whatever part of the he could reach. He made sure to kiss Gavin nice and slow to keep his boy with them. If he dropped it would ruin the entire evening and he would never let Gavin go through something as awful as that. His boy would feel nothing but loved and cherished from now on. He would take care of his mate just as well as he'd taken care of his Michael. _Their_ Michael. They were licking softly at his scent glands and he pulsed within his jeans. He wanted to rut himself into the slick crevice of Gavin's ass or maybe take Michael's plush mouth but this wasn't the time for that.

 

But then his older Omega stared pulling at his fly. “Michael, no. You boys rest and – _oh_.”

 

Michael nudged his shoulder against his boy as he yanked down Geoff's boxers so the thin band of elastic sat snug under his heavy balls. “Gav...you ever seen it up close?”

 

Gavin was resting his cheek on the man's shoulder and watching with a delicate blush spread across his high cheeks. He shook his head. He hadn't seen Geoff outright and fully hard before, just a few flashes of impressive soft flesh and glimpses of what Michael's hole wasn't swallowing.

 

“He's already so close,” Michael hummed as he took note of the swollen glands along the thick head. Geoff had a nice curve when he was fully hard and he ran his fingers along it to find the flesh unyielding. He smirked past the heady fog filling his head and inhaled his Alpha's thick scent. No, it wouldn't take much at all. Michael released the straining flesh and reached behind Gavin to run his fingers between the Omega's cheeks to gather up as much slick as he could. The Brit moaned into Geoff's throat and started chewing lightly, kneading the skin between his tiny Omega fangs as his hole was gently prodded and his natural slick was scooped up.

 

Geoff growled low in his throat as he watched his fiery mate return his hand with a natural, shining lube that felt like silk. The smell – God, the _smell_ of his wet Omegas and now the touch combined with how beautiful they were on his lap. Michael was smiling mischievously and as the boy started stroking he knew he really wouldn't take long at all. It felt amazingly good and his head dropped back onto the couch, Gavin's mouth on his scent gland sending more heat straight to his cock.

 

“It's so thick. Look at it, Gavvy. His knot...God, his knot feels so good when it's prying you open. I can't wait to see you take it. You're going to fucking _scream_.”

 

Another set of fingertips touched his knot and he shot up. His boys were looking down at his lap and Michael was guiding the Brit's hand along the swell bulge to feel it properly. Gavin was making soft little sounds and curiously exploring it.

 

“I-I've never taken something this big,” Gavin admitted.

 

“And you never will again.” Geoff thought he'd said it for a moment but it was his older boy growling out the claim. Michael worked his cock with a new grimace, apparently determined to show their Omega how virile he truly was. Gavin was moaning along with him, unable to look away as he kept his cheek pressed to the Alpha's warm shoulder. His long fingers danced over what the other Omega wasn't touching and dipped down to his tightening balls, cupping and rolling them gently to drive up the pleasure another notch. They were both suckling just under his jaw and he fell _hard_.

 

Geoff came with a strained grunt but his Omegas let out twin whimpers, two soft hands curling around his knot and forcing him to spill in great gushes. His hips rocked up like he was breeding a good bitch and he got sweet kisses from both his boys as he rode it out. Michael was showing their younger how much pressure to put, how to squeeze, and Gavin picked it up like a natural. As the loads of spunk turned into a dribble and the rest dried on his thighs, they both scented frantically at his neck and pushed close.

 

“Was it good, Alpha?”

 

“D-Did you like it? Did we make you happy?”

 

“Daddy,” that breathless word was whispered by his lovely Michael straight into his ear. “We just want to make you feel good.”

 

“You always make me feel good,” Geoff promised, still panting as he laced his fingers his both of their hair and held them lovingly. “My boys.”

 

“Can I lick it up?” Gavin asked shyly, fingers still flexing against his chest like a kitten trying to nest.

 

“We can do it together?” Michael made it a question as he nuzzled against the Alpha's cheek.

 

“Whatever my boys want. How about you clean me up and I make you something really good for dinner?” They chirped in agreement. “And then we'll all head to bed together. Does that sound good?”

 

As they nodded together, Geoff knew this was going to all work out beautifully.

 

o0o0o0o

 

“It's so lovely!”

 

Michael and Geoff had barely made it to the doorway in time to see the Brit launch himself onto the new bare mattress. It took up a good portion of the room, twice the size of the other, but it was amazingly comfortable. The movers had been amazing and efficient getting it inside with all the clutter in the house. It had been three guys and they had all smiled at Gavin's enthusiasm and had even given Geoff the thumbs up with a wink before leaving. The buzz of acceptance had driven their Omega into a new level of peppiness but now he looked like a content cat.

 

Gavin stretched out his long body and rolled around on the mattress to feel the give and plushness of it. It was so much better than either of the beds they'd shared, maybe better than any bed, and he couldn't stop touching it. He wasn't sure how long he'd been purring but his chest was starting to go raw. He didn't care, though, not with his mates smiling at him like he was the most beautiful thing they'd ever seen.

 

They'd been out all morning buying the softest pillows and blankets they could find to go along with their new mattress. Though Geoff had his room in neutral colors, Gavin had convinced him to buy green high-count threads. Geoff chose the comforter and somehow found a main pillow for them all that was pleasing to each man's touch. He'd also picked out two sets of bedding that would be put asied for each boy's heat (if they chose to go off their suppressants.) But Michael – oh, his sweet Michael had come out of the store with two bulging bags full of _nesting_ material. Furry blankets, velvet pillows, a heating blanket, and the squishiest comforter that seemed to be made of clouds and memory foam.

 

The same beautiful boy was coming up to the edge of the bed and Gavin pulled him down with a happy squawk. They laid facing each other, noses nuzzling and brilliant smiles on their faces. Their legs tangled up and their fingers followed suit, pure joy filling them up and overflowing until it was an almost palpable buzz between them.

 

“I love you boys.”

 

They both sat up and stared at their Alpha with wide, surprised eyes. The older man had a fond smile on his face and simply shrugged under their scrutiny. “What, assholes? I _do_.”

 

Gavin burst out into another painfully wide smile but made a noise of confusion when he heard the other Omega sniffle. Michael growled to himself and swiped his hand over his eyes, the sound morphing into a bitter chuckle. “Michael?”

 

“Jesus fucking shit,” Michael cursed as he looked up to show his wet eyes. “I've been waiting two God damn years to hear that and you fucking wait until we're finally happy? What an asshole. Now I'm crying like a little bitch. You're such a dick, Geoff!”

 

Gavin frowned lightly. “You...you never said you loved him, Geoff?”

 

“Didn't seem like the right time.” Geoff crawled onto the bed and pressed scratchy kisses to the Omega's damp cheeks. “Don't cry, baby boy. You know I've loved you since the moment I saw you on the floor in the office. Even when you agreed to be my mate, I think I knew there was something missing. And now we're all here, together, and it fits. I should've told you sooner.”

 

“Shut up!” Michael laughed, grabbing the Alpha's head and shoving it into the mattress. Geoff flailed and tried to get away but Michael climbed onto his back and caught him in a playful choke hold, latching his tiny fangs into the nape of his neck.

 

“Michael!”

 

He bit harder.

 

“Gavin! Save me!”

 

Gavin snickered to himself and laid out on the bed to watch the show. “I think you've got it all under control, _Alpha_.”

 

* * *

 

 

**I'm overwhelmed by the responses I get from this fic and I want you guys to know I seriously appreciate the love. Knowing you guys like it so much just keeps me giddy all day and I'll keep cranking out chapters if you keep reading them!**

 

 


	70. Ryan, Ray, and Dan V

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryan, Ray, and Dan work out their issues but there are more problems brewing outside their trio. As the three grow close, they realize there are repercussions on the horizon.
> 
> (Or: The chapter with rimming)

**I had to split this chapter in half it was getting way too big. Thank you, MXD, for doing the entire outline of the sex and letting me borrow it**   
  
**By the way, if you can't tell, I write Omegaverse like a biological D/s relationship and the episode Ray goes through is the start of a subdrop. Now, this is a lighter/different version than what usually happens when a sub feels like they aren't being taken care of (and that's a poor explanation for it). For more correct, non-fictional, non-glazed over information, please[go here](http://www.submissiveguide.com/2009/03/sub-drops-emotional-side/) or find a site the BDSM community can support. **

* * *

 

Ray yawned loudly and curled tighter against the body beside him. He thought it was Ryan at first but as he felt around his fingers discovered a firm stomach and a yield along the chest that his Alpha's body didn't have. He hummed in delight as he rubbed at the thinly clothed pecs. There was softness and then after a moment there was a stiff peak. A smirk curled the Omega's mouth as he teased the nip until the other shifted around.

 

“Stop!” Dan whined, rolling over and rubbing his face into the boy's chest. He squirmed away from his merciless fingers and wrapped his arms around his waist. They were both sleep-warm under the blanket and still thick-minded from the early hour. Ray laughed softly and hugged him back, chin brushing in ruffled dark hair. They dozed together for a few minutes but their twitching noses woke them back up. Eggs, salt, bacon, sausage, fried cheese – they started sniffing and raising their heads. Ray moaned and licked his lips and the Brit made a similar noise. They started untangling themselves from each other and the nest they'd made last night to get to their feet and follow the smells. The kitchen was steamy and just as warm. Ryan was there in a pair of sweats and an old shirt as he took charge of several pans on the stove top. He shot them a smile and told them to sit down.

 

Rubbing the sleep from their eyes and nodding, the two of them sat on the stools at the counter and waited patiently. Ray slumped his head onto his folded arms and Dan kept smothering yawns behind his hand. Ryan turned down the eggs so he could grab a Monster and the orange juice from the fridge. He poured out a glass before carrying them both over. Dan smiled and accepted the juice while the cold can was bumped against Ray's head until he woke back up.

 

“Hey. Hey. Hey.”

 

“What?” Ray gruffed, glaring up at his boyfriend until he spotted the Monster. “Oh. God, you're the best. Fucking nectar.” He cracked open the can and started to chug with relieved sighs around the lip. Ryan rolled his eyes and went back to the stove to finish everything. Three plates were set out before a tray was pulled out of the warmed oven. Upon the breakfast tray (a Christmas gift from his aunt back when he was a single Alpha bachelor to encourage him to take a mate) were three bigger plates and a couple small ones. Eggs, bacon, sausage, tortillas, diced potatoes, and a bowl of cheese were spread out. He took the tray over and put it in front of the boys.

 

“Eat up,” Ryan ordered casually. He went back to the stove and turned everything off, skillets put in the sink with hot water and soap to soak. He grabbed a Diet Coke, a regular one, and some more OJ before going to sit at his spot on the opposite side of the counter. He beamed when he saw that Ray had made him two burritos just the way he liked them – piled hard with sausage and egg more than anything else. “Thanks.”

 

Ray's cheeks were bulging as he scarfed down his food and he tried to speak but Dan gagged and told him to close his damn mouth before he hurled. The Brit poured himself some more juice and smiled at the older Alpha. “Thank you, Rye. Seriously, this is delicious.”

 

“No problem,” Ryan promised with a little wave before he dug into his own food. Breakfast became a quiet affair as they filled their growling bellies and washed it all down with sugary drinks. They slowed down but continued to pick at their plates. The reality of last night started to really sink in and they suddenly weren't sure what to say.

 

Ray kept chewing his lip and glancing between the Alphas. A new fear had wriggled into his heart that there would be a competitive edge between them now. He wasn't going to be fought over like some cheap prize and if they weren't going to go any further in this direction then he at least wanted them to be friends. He personally wanted more between them all, even if it was just scenting and humping like teenagers. He wasn't sure if his desire for Dan had a limit but if that was true he hadn't nearly reached it. They couldn't be done, not yet.

 

Dan speared a fork into the last bite of egg on his plate and slowly twirled it around, working up his courage. He cleared his throat and the other two tensed. “So did I just have a one night stand?”

 

Ryan sighed through his nose and took up the plates. “Ray, why don’t you take the shower first?”

 

Ray took the hint and headed out of the kitchen. After the dishes were rinsed, Ryan led the Brit into the living room so they could sit down on the couch. Dan squirmed nervously and scratched at his arms, sleeves getting pulled on and faint pink lines showing up as he tried to keep still. He was terrified he’d stepped on the older Alpha’s toes somehow, that the whole situation was a huge regret. Was he about to be kicked out in more ways than one? How would he explain to Gavin when he asked why the couple wasn’t talking to him anymore?

 

Ryan took his hands to stop the fiddling. They both had large Alpha palms and fingers but somehow they fit well together. A thumb ran over the back of his knuckles and he sighed out some of the nervous energy. “I want to be honest with you so I’ll be blunt. I love Ray.”

 

The words dropped with an unyielding certainty. Dan picked up his jaw and scolded himself for being so shocked. Ryan and Ray were so easy together, flowing and filling up one another – where one lacked, the other held. The biting last night should have been the biggest indicator about where the older Alpha’s heart belonged. The mark on his own neck tingled at the memory.

 

“But I care about you a lot,” Ryan added, still rubbing along the younger Alpha’s hand to feel the sparse hair and warm skin against his thumb. “And so does Ray.”

 

Dan had to swallow a few times before he got his voice back. Even then it cracked. “I care about you lot too.”

 

“I know you do.” Ryan’s smile made his heart melt. “But Ray is my Omega.”

 

It was like a sucker punch.

 

“I-I understand,” he choked out, trying to keep up his own smile, but even he could smell how his scent soured. “I shouldn’t expect anything. I knew what I was getting into. We were just mucking around last night.”

 

Ryan tisked and cupped his jaw, pulling him into a kiss. The Alpha’s lips were firm along his own and they swallowed up whatever else he was going to spew out. He softened up and kissed back, mind whirring to try and memorize the sensation in case this was the last time. When Ryan pulled away he whined and got gently shushed until he was quiet again. “I didn’t say that, now did I?”

 

Dan shook his head slightly. The fingers along his jaw rubbed for a few moments until his scent and heart calmed down.

 

“You probably don’t know this, but Ray’s never been with anyone before. I’ve been courting him since before he presented and he’s never had anyone before that, especially not an Alpha. He's still green with dynamics.” The word _virgin_ lingered on the back of his tongue. He resisted the urge to kiss the younger Alpha's cheek and jaw, an instinctual need to calm bubbling up. Instead he thumbed at his pink bottom lip and let the sweet flesh compress under his touch. “This is the biggest dynamic lesson so far.”

 

Dan didn't want to nod and break the contact. He felt starved for any sign of affection and this was fulfilling that need in full. The older Alpha's thumb dragged along and dug into his cheek. His attention was quickly retaken. There was a new heat in Ryan's gaze but he didn't want to turn away, not for a minute. The older Alpha looked righteous and unbearably _handsome_.

 

“I want to claim him in every possible way.” The husked words hit him deep and he squirmed on the couch, blood rushing between his legs. “All of his firsts belong to me. Do you understand?” Another kiss was burned across his lips, fingers tightening on his jaw until his mouth parted under the force. It was only a few seconds but he craved more, previous content lost under the new fire. “He's mine. Completely.”

 

“God yes,” Dan rasped, nodding quickly so as not to upset the older man. “He's so pretty and _yours_ , Alpha. I know.”

 

Ryan's low purr was gravel over silk and it only made him throb harder in the constraint of his jeans. He pet through the Brit's hair and pressed their thighs close, body heats bleeding together. “ _But_ – after I've done that...”

 

Dan perked up and pushed into the touch like a cat, pinking up when he realized how desperate he must look. But the words made his chest swell up like a balloon and his cheeks hurt from smiling.

 

“After I've claimed Ray and we're properly mated, and when you get off leave,” Ryan drew out, a sudden bout of shyness flushing through him. He dropped his hand and fiddled with his own fingers in his lap. It was an idea still in it's infant stages but the way Dan called him _Alpha_ made him want to put it out there. “Well, then, we're more than welcome to try again. We can all come back and see where we are and if anything can happen.”

 

Ryan chuckled and kept his eyes on his knees. He was afraid to see if there was any rejection swimming in Dan's eyes. “Who knows? Maybe you'll have found a pretty little Omega of your own and we'll be old hat.”

 

Dan surged forward and kissed him hard. He didn't want to hear it. The hope of what could be, the sweetness of the offer and the sincerity in Ryan's eyes – he couldn't take it. His heart was squeezed by an invisible fist. He gripped the back of the Alpha's neck and dug up into his hair, thick tresses grazing his fingers like a caress. Ryan was surprised by the sudden kiss but he rolled with it and let the boy taste him. Then Dan rose up on his knees, gaining height, and his Alpha instincts surfaced.

 

The Gent growled against soft lips and took back control, grabbing the boy by the shoulders and trying to force him back down. Dan's returning growl was frisky and he nipped hard at his lip like a challenge. They pushed against one another, big hands grasping hard at arms, and then one solid shove from the older Alpha took them to the floor. They thumped straight into the makeshift nest and started clawing at clothing, still stealing kisses even as their light-hearted tugging became true wrestling. Sheets and blankets bunched under their bodies as they struggled for the dominant position.

 

Dan got rolled and his back arched over one of the thicker pillows, chest thrust out like an invitation. Ryan's smug smirk hovered right above his face. “Eager, Gruchy?”

 

The Brit moved his hands to a prime position and shot back a grin of his own. “You wish.”

 

Dan had more training in this and he managed to flip the older Alpha onto his stomach. He straddled Ryan and yanked his arm up his back, setting his teeth in his clothed shoulder and biting down in a demand for submission. The man snarled at first but then he seemed to grow pliant.

 

“You got me,” Ryan husked, spreading his legs a bit and canting up his hips to fit snugly in the seat of the boy's groin. Dan gasped against his shoulder and started to rut back softly, whining quietly like he was getting something good. The moment the boy's grip went lax, Ryan ripped his arm away and twisted around to bury his canines in the dark mark he'd left last night. Dan's Omega-like keen made a little growl of his own and he flipped them both to settle on top of the younger man. He groped Dan through his boxers and dug in harder until he could almost taste the iron under his skin. The Brit released a punched-out _oh_ sound and his eyes fell shut.

 

“Hot.”

 

The two Alphas pulled away and shook their heads as if to dislodge the fog of hormones that had brought out their baser instincts. Ray had come into the living room and he was toweling his hair, watching them with a kittenish grin.

 

“Uhm, we were just...” Ryan sat back and could only laugh at how flushed Dan looked. “We were messing around.”

 

“Yeah we were,” Dan chuckled as he patted the man's leg. “You're heavy.”

 

“I was just talking about our situation,” Ryan admitted honestly when his Omega raised a brow at him. “I guess it's your turn now.”

 

“Do I get humped on the floor too?”

 

Ryan got up and nuzzled his Omega's jaw before he wrangled them both back on the couch. He slung an arm around Ray's back and rubbed lightly along his arm, both Alphas slowly breathing in the boy's shower-fresh scent. Ray got a hand in each of their shirts and tugged them close so he could snuggle between them properly. Dan was respectful as he rested his head on the boy's shoulder and only lightly touched his elbow, knees pressed for a small point of contact.

 

“I told him what we discussed, about seeing where this goes,” Ryan began, lips bussing over his boyfriend's temple. “And that we're still in our honeymoon phase and there's not a lot of room for a third at the moment.”

 

The prospect made Ray blush a little but he still nuzzled back up against his Alpha. “Jesus, you really are old. Like I'm your ball and chain already keeping you from knotting all the hot ass.”

 

He turned and brushed Dan's mouth in a chaste kiss. It surprised the Brit but he took it gratefully. “You're more than welcome to stay here with Ryan during leave. It's probably better than breathing in the Golden Trio's sex fumes all day. But, Dan, you need to understand that Ryan's _my_ mate.”

 

The Omega's blunt nails dug into his cheek and he knew that the couple shared the same passion and possessiveness.

 

“I know,” Dan promised as he touched the boy's wrist to ease his touch. “You two belong together. This is just...”

 

“A trial period,” Ray finished with a pat to his cheek. “Just enjoying each other while we're all here. Right?”

 

They other two nodded. Ray felt some metaphorical feathers being ruffled at the thought of Dan stealing his boyfriend from him in some way, the sight of them on the floor together planting the first seed of doubt. But when he saw the look they shared and the fond smiles thy gave him, he forgot all about it. No one was trying to take anyone else, Ryan had made that very clear to him before they'd even started this.

 

As they started to get ready for work, they all felt a lot better about the situation. Ryan was sated right down to his Alpha core and couldn't seem to stop smiling. Dan's worries of a one night stand were gone and he happily watched the couple exchange kisses and intimate touches as they went about gathering what they needed. And Ray – being the perceptive Omega that he was – felt the tension in the room had melted away and any friction between the three of them had vanished after the long talk. They would go with the flow and see where it took them, and all with respective boundaries in mind.

 

Dan wouldn't tread on their newfound relationship, and the couple wouldn't force him into anything he wasn't comfortable with. No pushing, no forcing, no expectations – just gentle exploration.

 

And all the kisses anyone could want.

 

o0o

 

They knew they were late even as they got into the car but none of them really cared. Dan and Ray took the back and Ryan drove with soft music playing on the radio. The lunch traffic slowed them down and it would take a while to get to the office.

 

Ray scooted up close to Dan and took his hand, fingers lacing tight to catch the Brit's attention. His eyes flitted away from the window and he smiled at the Omega. Though that smile didn't last long when he heard what he had to say. “You're going to have to talk to Gavin.”

 

“It's none of his business, yeah?” Dan replied defensively.

 

Ray tisked and lightly touched the bite mark on his friend's throat. In that moment he felt an awful lot like Ryan making such soft shushing noises and stroking over bruised skin as carefully as he could with the back of his knuckles. The way Dan seemed to visibly unwind made him want to make one of those infamous Alpha purrs. The Brit touched his hand and leaned into it, the slight pressure reminding them both of their night together.

 

“Everyone's going to know.”

 

Dan blinked dully at the blunt stab of the truth. He looked up toward the front where the older Alpha was quietly listening. “What should I tell him?”

 

Sharp blue eyes met his own in the rearview mirror. “The truth. It's none of his business, you're right. But he's a good friend to us all, and considers you one of his most precious people. Hell, he was your boyfriend for a while. You don't have to say anything if you don't want.”

 

“It would make me fucking uncomfortable but if you don't want to I can go with it,” Ray admitted, nose scrunched up at the thought of working so closely with his friends and hiding this from them. “But if you tell Gav, everyone will know.”

 

“That's not true,” Dan countered.

 

Ray touched his cheek and there was a rare seriousness in his eyes. “Listen to me, dude. If you tell Gavin, he's going to tell Michael, and everyone knows Michael tells Geoff absolutely everything. They're a bunch of gossipy bitches. I mean, I love them, they're my bros, but it's like high school.”

 

Ryan raised a brow and Ray spotted it in the mirror so he calmed himself. There was no need to bring any more friction into this than there already was. They had talked about it away from Dan while they were getting dressed and Ryan had informed him of just how delicate this situation was for Dan and his beloved 'B'. They had a deep relationship that had gone on longer than Ryan and Ray had even known about Rooster Teeth let alone each other. There would be some dissonance over this development in their little pack and Ray trusted his boyfriend to keep an eye on the situation.

 

Ray squeezed his hand reassuringly. “Whatever you want.”

 

Dan nosed at the boy's cheek and grunted softly, a request. Ray relented and kissed the Alpha. It was a sweet exchange, damp lips slotting and seeking comfort from what would have to be done. When they parted, the young Alpha looked back toward the rearview mirror. “Ryan?”

 

“Ray's not wrong.” His thumb drummed on the steering wheel. “I'll back you up no matter what.”

 

Dan nodded and turned his head back towards the Omega. “Ray?”

 

The Omega squeezed his fingers again. It was the only answer he needed. Dan slumped down in his seat and tucked an arm behind his head, eyes drifting back out the window to the sunny city. “I'll talk to Gavin. And everyone else can just get over it. Suppose it won't be hard, we all smell like each other.”

 

Ray hummed but he wasn't fully convinced. He unbuckled his belt and crawled into the Brit's lap. Though it was comfortable, Dan did not nearly feel like the natural seat of his Alpha's lap but he liked it nonetheless. He fit and the man's hands were as warm and firm as the rest of him. Ray nuzzled the blue and purple mark on Dan's throat and was tender when he brushed his mouth across it. “I like this.”

 

Dan rumbled and touched the back of Ray's neck, fingers drifting down to the dark red blotch on the boy's neck. There were no teeth imprints like the ones imprinted in his skin but the mark was in the same place, matching obviously enough that even the unpresented eye could tell there was a connection between them. Dan could tell that Ryan was a tactile creature once he was comfortable and the Gent probably wouldn't be able to keep his hands to himself while they were at work. But the more he thought about it and enjoyed the quiet car ride, basking in the warm weight of the Omega in his lap and their combined scents, the more he realized he didn't care what the office thought of him.

 

Though if anyone said anything to Ray he was going to lose his shit.

 

o0o

 

They walked into the office and Dan instantly felt the heat of a spotlight that only existed in his mind. The lapels of his jacket framed the bitemark Ryan had left on him and it throbbed with each step. Though he rationally knew no one cared, it seemed like every eye strayed to the blatant claim and passed judgement.

 

“Maybe I shouldn't have come,” he murmured into his Omega friend's ear.

 

Ray shouldered him. “Shut up.”

 

“No one's looking,” Ryan promised, brushing their hands reassuringly before he stepped forward and opened the AH office door for them both. His eyes lingered on them as they passed and he followed them inside. There was no one inside save their fearless leader.

 

“About time, you lazy fucks,” Geoff scolded, turning around and taking a big gulp from his mug. His surprised gaze fell right on the necks on the two younger men. “Jesus fucking Christ.”

 

“What?” Ryan challenged lightly.

 

“No,” Geoff stated as he put aside his coffee and started fishing inside one of the many boxes on the floor. He pulled out an AH hoodie and waved it at the Brit. “No one's seeing that shit. We have a busy day and the last thing I need is everyone clucking around the fucking water cooler about...about whatever you guys are doing.”

 

Dan gaped in confusion, the outburst catching him off guard. He looked to the couple for guidance. Ray quietly went to his desk, the Pack Alpha's agitated scent making him duck his head and struggle to boot up his computer so the ire didn't turn on him. Ryan's nostrils flared as he realized his Omega was giving in to the silent command of another Alpha but that wasn't what sparked his own agitation. It was one thing to flex his position as superior Alpha but it was another to try and bully Dan.

 

“If he doesn't want to wear it he doesn't have to,” Ryan defended, arms crossed over his chest.

 

“You think I'm being an asshole, is that it?” Geoff huffed loudly. “That I'm trying to piss all over what you guys are doing? Well go fuck yourself, Haywood.”

 

“Hey!” Dan barked.

 

“You too, Gruchy!” Geoff snapped, shutting the young Alpha right up. “Do you have any clue what Gavin's going to think the second he sees that?

 

“Gav won't care,” the Brit assured him, though now his voice was tinted with uncertainty.

 

“He won't...?” Geoff trailed off in disbelief before a scowl twisted his pale lips. “You green little fucking Alpha pup. Jesus Christ. You think this is nothing – you fooling around with his Omega friend? And that Omega's Alpha? Just – ” He put a hand over his face. “Just put it on until you can explain it to him. And wait until tomorrow after work, okay? We're really busy right now and if he freaks out I'm going to need a weekend to calm him down.”

 

Dan's jaw ticked away under his skin. He looked at Ryan but the older Alpha was staring at Geoff. An intense surge of hormones started to fill the room – too many Alphas feeling too strongly for one tiny office to hold. Fists clenched, knuckles whitened, lips pursed, but there was no canines to be seen. After a few suspended moments where Ray had to pull up his hood and hunker down in his chair, Ryan shot a nod at their friend. It was a silent acknowledgment of the Pack Alpha and it made Geoff relax.

 

Dan snatched the hood and tugged it on, the strings drawn tight against his throat to hide the mark.

 

o0o

 

Dan spent the day waiting to go home. He tried not to seethe but it was hard when there was such vinegar inside him for Geoff. He hated the way the Alpha had controlled them all like that. He bulked at the obvious authority and his own submission as he kept the hoodie on. Others kept commenting on how he smelled like Ryan and Ray and they did so with chaste smiles, no real heat behind it.

 

Michael and Gavin had teased Ray about his bitemark but the Omega boys had nuzzled their friend's throat, cooing about how nice it looked and how it was about time Ryan marked him up. They both bore at least one bit of color from their own Alpha's eager canines. The couple laughed about how they could smell Dan there as well.

 

“Someone's been cuddling,” Michael needled relentlessly to the happy laughter of his Omega mate.

 

Dan's mark went unseen and it was both a relief and a curse. By the end of the day and in the car heading home, the young Alpha was on the edge of a tantrum. He'd been simmering too long without being able to talk about it and there was a small fire in his gut. Ray was plugged into his phone, headphones snug in his ears as he slumped against the car door. He was exhausted from the long LP and the three Achievement Guides he'd had to to record and edit. They would be dropping him off at his apartment so he could get some undisturbed rest. He already seemed to be snoozing.

 

It was Ryan who gave in first. “Stop pouting.”

 

“I'm not pouting,” Dan refuted.

 

They stopped at a red light and the older Alpha looked over his shoulder. “Get up here.”

 

Dan unbuckled his belt and climbed up between the seats to plop down in the passenger side. He'd barely rebuckled before a hand laid upon his thigh and squeezed. The Brit sighed and tried not to be dazzled by the headlights as the light turned green and they began moving again. “He really is a Pack Alpha, isn't he?”

 

“He is,” Ryan replied easily, eyes on the road. “He keeps us all together and he's given us these great jobs. He brought Ray and I together, Michael and Gavin, and he gave us Jack who's the best Beta anyone can ask for. And he'll bring you too when your tour is over. You two seemed to get alone fine before. Hasn't he been good to you?” His fingers trailed along the lower seam of the boy's jeans. “Hasn't he treated you like a Pack Alpha should?”

  
“ _You're_ my Alpha!”

 

Ryan's eyes went wide at the loud confession. Dan flushed, mortified by his outburst. He crossed his arms over his chest and puffed defiantly as he kicked his feet up on the dash. It was a movement that painfully reminded Ryan of his young Omega. “Fucking dynamics are rubbish.”

 

The bitter tone made Ryan flinch. “You sound a little ungrateful there.”

 

Dan frowned deeply. He thought of Geoff and the way he'd taken care of him when he'd been torn up over the couple. He'd been kind to him, taking him into his home and giving him a warm bed. He'd been a genuine friend. “I guess. I'm just a bit ruffled because this is going so well and I can't help but wonder why it couldn't be so easy for Gav. Geoff is a damn good Alpha...why did he hurt my B like that? Why couldn't he have just talked to him, like you talked to me?”

 

Dan closed his eyes and took a long breath to keep the anger out of his voice. “How can he tell us what to do when the mistakes he made were so bloody easy to avoid?”

 

Ryan was a little breathless from the wise words coming from the young pup's mouth. He rubbed down his firm thigh in an effort to calm him. “Everyone makes mistakes, Dan. Some more severe than others. But you've seen them now and how great they are together. You've seen how they dote on him.”

 

“He deserves everything I coudn't give him,” Dan mused sadly.

 

“Don't think like that,” Ryan tisked. “If you were meant to be together, you would've found a way to make it work.”

 

Dan blanketed the other's hand upon his thigh and lightly laced their fingers. He gave a small sigh and tossed away the thoughts of what could have been. “You're right. We're better mates than _mates_ anyway.”

 

o0o0o0o

 

It had only been a few days since Ray had worn the stockings to the office and his legs were still pretty much smooth from the treatment his friends had given him. Lindsay had stopped by his house and dropped off some more Veet, some nice razors, and even expensive shaving cream to moisturize and keep irritation away. After some instructions from her, Ray touched himself up in the shower with filthy intentions in mind. He managed not to cut himself to pieces and when he checked in the mirror he was proud to see he hadn't missed too many spots.

 

He'd put on some loose cargo shorts and a tight shirt before he had Michael drop him off at Ryan's apartment. The other Lad was already heading over to Geoff's so it wasn't out of his way. That's how he ended up cuddling with Ryan on the floor with some pillows while watching Netflix. The makeshift nest they'd made the other day had been broken up and put back in their proper places except for a pile of bedding that was stacked on the couch for when Dan slept there. (Ryan was considering buying another bed for the second bedroom in the house, turn it into a guest room.) The Brit was in the main bedroom on Skype with his family and generally mucking around on the internet, enjoying his free time and letting the couple have their own.

 

Ryan nuzzled through his hair and along the back of his neck. Ray smirked to himself and acted as if he couldn't taste the Alpha's nervous energy in every move he made. Blunt fingers rubbed over his side and down his arm, tickling his skin so goosebumps cropped up. The Omega shivered as the man's hand trailed down to hook just under the hem of his shots.

 

“I can't believe you actually shaved and wore those things,” Ryan breathed into his nap as nails dragged lightly over smooth skin. “Did you...do it again?”

 

“Feel something you like?” Ray teased with a small wiggle of his hips. The Alpha's fingers pressed harder and there was a smile against his skin. He'd hoped to get a reaction out of his boyfriend and this seemed to be heading right where he wanted.

 

“You did look really nice in them,” Ryan admitted, voice low as he recalled just how beautiful his Omega had looked in those stockings. He suddenly chuckled and pressed his forehead to the boy's nape. “Wow, I never thought that I would have a thing for guys dressing up. My partners have always been pretty solid in their roles. But there's something _erotic_ about this.”

 

Ray bit the side of his lip as the word fell like a purr on his ears. He got rolled on his back and he thought they were heading somewhere when his boyfriend covered him but he was only nuzzled more, hugged loosely and pinned by comfortable weight. Ryan felt like one of those big dogs that thought they were still puppies – big, warm, blanketing him completely, even pecking kisses and tiny licks along the hollow of his throat. Ray chuckled and pet through blonde hair, shifting around until he was comfortable. He thought it would end here with some nice cuddling but Ryan's mouth became restless and started moving down. Their clothes dragged together and then the Alpha was scrubbing his cheek over his covered stomach.

 

Ray laughed out loud at their position and scratched the man right behind the ear. “Happy down there?”

 

Ryan hummed absently before he started planting kisses all along the Lad's belly. Ray barely felt them at first but then the Alpha whispered to relax and he decided go with it. He yanked a pillow under his head and let himself go boneless under his boyfriend. He watched Ryan as his kisses grew firmer and spread out all along his torso, nose and mouth brushing his shirt to grind the material against his skin. Every spot that was given attention started to tingle and the Omega chittered quietly as more patches began to prickle. His sides, around his belly button, and all along the bottom of his chest even as it started to rise and fall more quickly.

 

Ryan's hands began to wander in firm, long strokes over the outside of his thighs and hips, thumbs rubbing circles wherever they traveled. Ray swallowed down all the little noises that bubbled up in the back of his throat. It was a languid exploration but it made his heart pound hard and his blood heat up. He squirmed around a little but his Alpha's faint purr settled him back down. He felt kind of sexy being worshiped over his clothes. It was a feeling only Ryan could bring out in him. The man's expression was clam, full of adoration, and it only fueled the ardor growing inside him. Fingertips occasionally danced under the hem of his shirt to touch his bare stomach.

 

A thick, delicious tension was in the air and Ray swallowed it down with each breath. He couldn't help but wonder what Ryan was planning to do next. The other was good at surprising him and if they were going to take things farther than normal than he could only guess at what was coming. He worked himself up laying there, old fantasies mixing all together and clouding up his mind. He hated how inexperienced he was but he couldn't wait for his Alpha to show him everything.

 

Ryan looked up at him, hands fanned out across his hips like he was some trapped prey, and the boy was struck by how fucking _naughty_ this whole situation was.

 

“I want to try something new.”

 

Ray nodded quickly. He would agree to anything right now to keep this tight-chested feeling and have his Alpha so close. Ryan's smirk made him anxious in the best way and he yelped when the older man grabbed his shorts and ripped them down his legs. It was sudden but not violent, and the smug look on his boyfriend's face made him grin back at him.

 

“I think these are my favorite,” Ryan mused as he tapped a thumb along the waistband of his small, red boxer briefs. The pair clung tight to his thighs and cut into his hips enough to show off the softness his Change had brought onto his body (along with endless bags of chips and calorie heavy Monsters).

 

“I wore them the first time you almost touched my dick,” Ray reminded, trying to be confidant so he didn't squirm under the man's greedy stare. “I'm still waiting on that rain check, you know.”

 

“I do owe you, don't I?” Ryan hummed in a lazy muse. His relaxed amusement flickered out. “If you don't like it, tell me-”

 

“-and you'll stop,” the Omega finished, touched by the concern. “I know the drill by now, Rye. I trust you.”

 

Something about the Alpha softened – his eyes, his face, even his very form. Ray cooed at him and pet along his bearded jaw. Ryan pushed into it and pecked kisses along the thin skin of his inner wrist. “Whatever you want, Alpha. I'm all yours.”

 

Ryan reared up and kissed him as chastely as if they were at work. Their hearts swelled with love but neither could say anything. This was not a time for words.

 

“Anything?” he inquired softly, almost afraid to break the spell.

 

“Anything,” Ray confirmed.

 

Ryan was a graceful beast, he always had been, and he moved like silk over water as he settled back down between the boy's legs. He ran his hands up and down the smooth limbs, from ankle to knee, and the fantasy he'd had of Ray for so long flittered up into his mind until it was all he could think about. He couldn't think of a better time than now to take things up a notch. He fitted his palm right under the boy's knee and slowly pushed it to the side and up. Omegas were naturally flexible and he hoped to coax it out of him. The sound Ray made was so very soft, almost inaudible, but his ears were fine tuned to his boy's sounds.

 

Ryan went slow, as he had from the beginning of their relationship. He kept Ray's glistening gaze before his lids fell shut and he kissed at the soft skin just below the boy's inner knee. He suckled leisurely kisses down the back of his thigh, a few sharp, wet sounds escaping as he tasted the flesh. It was so warm and the closer he got to the crux of his groin the stronger his scent became. It was a musky sweetness that leaked out of his pores and his tongue darted out to taste it in all it's glory.

 

Ray panted faintly and lolled his head across the pillow. Ryan and his damn clever mouth. He blushed as he thought of exactly where he wanted those lips. His cock hardened up and started scratching against the tight seam of his underwear, hidden hole twitching weakly as his body started to strain towards his Alpha. He shuddered all over when the man's beard scraped at the base of his thigh near the hem. He spread his legs and got a quiet _good boy_ before Ryan switched to the other leg, giving it the same treatment from the top to the bottom. It was the same prolonged torture – more wet kisses, more red blotches left behind by over eager teeth.

 

Ray felt himself go loose as his Alpha teased closer to his core. His head fell back with a low groan as Ryan's kisses finally trailed along his underwear, teasing at the seam as his eyes raked up the line of his Omega's body to see the blissful look on his face from such light sensations. The boy's little package looked gift wrapped for him in such tight, red material. He let his breath wash hotly over the swell of his sack and he grinned when he saw Ray's cock visibly twitch under the thin material. The Alpha was already felt light headed from the rush of power but the Omega's scent creeping into him, kicking off his own hormone rush.

 

“How did I get so lucky?” Ryan sighed to himself before he pressed Ray's leg back even further. He wet his lips and eyed the start of a wet spot right over his hole. His own cock throbbed inside the trap of his jeans. He sniffed quietly and the thick, vanilla scent had blood rushing to his dick so fast he felt dizzy. He wanted to rip away the underwear and bury his tongue right inside his pliant Omega. But there was a seduction to this. Ryan had never been the type of lover to rush. He wanted to make his boy writhe, to come apart under his mouth, and he selfishly wanted to taste his pleasure. His slick, his seed – he wanted it all to coat his tongue and slide down his throat.

 

Ray keened when he felt his boyfriend's breath so close to his covered junk. He wanted to clamp his thighs around Ryan's shoulders and push up into him, force his mouth where he really wanted it. That thought along made him flustered and he closed his eyes to try and get a hold of himself. Just when he thought he would have the Alpha's tongue against covered flesh, he felt lips against his own instead. His legs, no longer held, instinctively clung to the man's hips.

 

“Ryan,” he sighed against his lips as he wrapped his arms around his shoulders, fingers snagging in his shirt like a plead. Ryan hushed him and before slanting a deeper kiss across his mouth, prying his lips apart with pleasurable force and sliding his tongue inside to taste. Ray's moan filled their joined mouths and was gulped down, the two moving against one another to feel the drag of clothing separating them. The roughness of Ryan's jeans against his shaved-smooth legs made him shiver and the Alpha hummed at his reaction. Blunt fingertips skimmed under his shirt and teased the edges, canines nipping at his bottom lip.

 

“Anything,” Ray reminded him breathlessly.

 

Ryan braced an elbow on the floor and gazed with loving heat into his Omega's face as he spread his hand along his belly, moving up and dragging the shirt along with it. Ray's breath stuttered but he didn't look away, enraptured by the hunger in his Alpha's eyes. A lock of blonde hair had come loose and fallen over his forehead, brushing his brow and the pale fan of his lashes. Ray leaned up and pressed one last kiss across his boyfriend's lips before he let himself sink back into the pillow.

 

He was so sure Ryan would go back between his thighs, start what he finished, but the Gent surprised him once more. His shirt was tugged further up his chest to cut a dark line just above his soft pecs, framing his hardening buds like an offering. The Gent's lips left a tingling trail from his jaw down the slope of his throat and between his collarbones. The shirt was nuzzled almost childishly before the man's hot mouth started kissing along his chest. He could feel it so much more strongly now. He'd never imagined it would be like this – Ryan's mouth was only slightly chapped and there was a slight scratch against his skin from it, damp from the swipes of his tongue, and there was a hint of teeth.

 

Just like feeling Ryan's fingers against his ass just a few days ago, he wasn't sure how he was supposed to go around _without_ his boyfriend's mouth all over him.

 

As Ryan placed kisses and tiny bites all around his nipples, so carefully avoiding the stiffening buds, Ray let himself imagine doing this at the office. It would be so easy to crawl into Ryan's lap while the man was on his couch. Nestle up to him, pull his shirt up, thread his fingers through his hair and lead him down to put pretty marks all over his chest. Ryan's satisfied hums and slight moans would fill the office and the other Lads would want after his attentive mate.

 

The fantasy twisted into a shock of sensation as a blood-hot tongue flicked over one of his nipples. Ray swallowed down a loud gasp and ended up making a choking sound as the teasing continued. Every firm dab made the Omega's hips snap up like the nerves were thickly connected. Eager lips slid over the peak and began to gently suck, tongue still moving wetly over the tingling skin.

 

Ray shoved the crook of his thumb between his teeth to muffle the embarrassing sound he made. His Alpha wasn't having it and ripped his hand away, pinning it lightly to the floor without ever looking up. The soft restraint, the eagerness of the mouth so thoroughly abusing his skin – Ray couldn't take it. He let loose an unrestrained moan and buried his free hand in blonde hair, not to yank him away but hold him close. Ryan's pleased grunt was followed by a hard drag of a canine over his nip. Heat built up in the Lad's groin and started to seep into his thighs, even up into his stomach. Any doubts he had about doing this with someone else in the house were shot to hell and all other thoughts faded out until all he could think about was his Alpha.

 

And then it hit him.

 

“Y-You fucking dork,” Ray chuckled weakly, a giant grin splitting his flushed face. He was blinded at first but as he hyperfocused on the movements he realized the Gent was making letters across his spit-slick nipple. He looked down to find Ryan smiling like a loon before plucking off the wet bud. “Was that your name?”

 

“Maybe,” Ryan drew out each syllable, tongue-in-cheek and absolutely adorable.

 

Ray's amused laugh was shorted out when the Alpha switched to the other nip, taking it without mercy. He fisted the man's hair _hard_ but it only made him moan, the light vibration going straight into his own skin. He muttered more mirth filled insults but they were interrupted with little sounds of pleasure. He'd never known his chest to be so sensitive but even the brush of cold air on his wet bud went straight to his cock.

 

Ryan's canines felt desperately dry and he wanted to sink his teeth hard into all the buttery soft flesh laid out before him. He resisted, knowing there would be a time and place to share his kink, but the urge didn't disappear just because he willed it. He didn't have _that_ much control. So he settled for a softer claim of tonguing his name into the boy's little nipples, saturating them with his hormone rich saliva and making them grow hard with sparse nibbles. He was trying to ease his Omega into being so dominated. For now he decided marking him with his scent and such torturous pleasure was good enough.

 

Ray puffed noisily as his nipple was finally released and the cold air hit them both, chest shuddering as more goosebumps sprouted all along his pecs and shoulders. The bit of hair he had there was briefly nuzzled like an apology for the chill. He clawed at Ryan's shoulders as the man started to drop kisses further down his torso, circling tickishly around his belly button before nosing at the waistband of his underwear. Though Ray wasn't as fit as the other Lads he still had noticeable dips that led under his boxer briefs and towards his groin.

 

Ryan couldn't refuse their polite offer and he not only followed them he prayed to them with adoring lips and a thirsty tongue. He left behind red marks all along the hip bones that only grew darker as he moved along the premade trail. As he idly made out with the subtle valleys along the elastic band, Ryan reached down and palmed himself through his jeans. The swelling, arousing scent of his precious Omega was getting to him and he felt an embarrassing wet patch forming already in his own boxers. He stole some small bites but nothing to hurt his boy. Everything was so uncomfortably _tight_ down there but he loved it, he loved being here and making Ray breathless and a little bit of friction against his dick wasn't going to kill him.

 

He tugged down Ray's underwear a scant inch, just enough to reveal dark curls. There was a softness to him that he loved. He seemed prone to instantly fall in love with every new part of Ray he discovered. The small bulge in the red underwear reminded Ryan that the boy should have known he was an Omega – a pretty little cock like that, he couldn't have been anything else. He scrubbed his cheek across the curls, scenting them with a rough Alpha purr, and the delicious musk he kicked up made his chest heave.

 

“Anything?”

It was a question, asked as Ryan carefully tugged the line of his underwear back up to cover his pubic bone. Ray's eyes rolled but not in exasperation, more in exertion to try and get his words back together after the new, heady rush of pleasure. “A-Anything.”

 

Another adoring kiss was placed just below his mate's belly button before he made his move. Ryan curled his fingers in the back of Ray's underwear and dragged them down with one hand while the other coaxed the boy's legs up despite his minor grunts of protest. Ryan hushed him so lovingly and fit the elastic band right beneath the curve of his tight sac, exposing the boy's hole but keeping the rest of him tucked into the dampening material. Ray whined at the dual feeling of being covered and exposed. Once Ryan was sure his Omega wouldn't squirm out of the lax restraint, he laid his palms along the back of those cushiony thighs and let his fingers dimple the supple skin. Ray's bleary eyes blinked down at him past his glasses, lower lip clamped tight between his teeth as his knees were slowly brought up closer to his chest to expose everything.

 

Ray trembled as he saw the way his boyfriend stared down between his legs like it was everything he'd ever wanted. “Want me to flip over?”

 

“No.” Thumb rubbed over his thighs as if to console his straining muscles. “You're so pretty just like _this_.”

“I...I don't think I can bend...”

 

Ryan's razor smirk shot straight through him and the hot kiss he pressed to the inside of his thigh made his whole body go liquid. “You can, Ray. Alpha knows your limits.”

 

The boy's mouth fell open. There was a rush of pure heat before he felt his legs fall open more easily under the easy weight of Ryan's hands. They thankfully weren't any closer to his chest but so _wide_ – his hole gaped, a thick drop of slick oozing past his rim and disappearing somewhere on the carpet. Ryan dipped low between his Omega's legs and started sucking marks all along the back of his thigh, teeth slipping more than he wanted that would leave some interesting marks tomorrow. As an Omega, Ray didn't have a lot of hair anyway, but it had all been shaved away and it drove him crazy. He couldn't wait to run his fingers through the boy's natural fur but this was a delicate treat that invited him to taste the sweet hole that had been calling to him for more than a year.

 

Ryan switched between those lovely thighs, refusing to pick a favorite and living an equal amount of dark red splotches that he would be kissing later when they were in bed. He briefly considered hauling his Omega to bed but something about the openness of the living room completed the wanton scene they were creating. For all the lush skin under his lips, Ryan's eyes were fixated on the sight of his Omega's hole. All his fantasies crumbled away in the light of reality. The little hole he'd only felt briefly with his fingertips was open now, a glistening invitation that could fit two of his fingers with some gradual effort. It was dark and flexed needily under his stare, another fat drop of slick gathering and trailing down his cleft.

 

 _Ripe_ , the Alpha wanted to growl. The vanilla scent was so deep now and it was coming off him in robust, lusty waves. Every flex of the Lad's muscles, every slight shiver, called to him like a siren song. He kept kissing near it, damn close enough to almost taste it, but skipped over it to suck little hickeys on the velvet soft inner thighs. There would be time. His Omega was already writhing against the carpet, shapely mouth bitten red and hanging open to let out the most darling sounds he'd ever heard. He was growing more relaxed by the minute, more flexible, and Ryan massaged the muscle under his hand to find it little more than puddy. He could have Ray however he wanted right now. His boy would agree to anything and he didn't want to waste the effort.

 

“Alpha,” Ray mewled, still huffing and trying to find something to hold onto as he desperately tried not to fall apart completely. Ryan's tongue was leaving paths of fire and ice all across his thighs and he started to quiver when the man started to suckle loudly low on his leg, the crease where his thigh met the curve of his ass getting nipped. He didn't think such a place could feel good but damn if his cock wasn't dribbling messily in his underwear like it was trying to tempt that amazing mouth further up. There was another place that was screaming for attention – he could feel how wet he was getting, dripping slowly onto the carpet as each kiss drove him further up in a spiral of arousal only his Alpha had ever brought out in him. No one could have him so exposed and needy on the floor, no one could ever get away with it or make him so comfortable – Ryan's firm grip and wet tongue tossed him into his own lust but they also kept him afloat.

 

Fingers gripped tight on his thighs and pushed until Ray's hips were canted up – an Omegan sacrifice to be devoured. And devoured it was. Ryan ran the flat of his tongue up the boy's cleft and collected every drop of slick that had fallen, curling the muscle and scooping it all up like he would never get anymore. He dug in hard at the loosened furl of his Omega's hole and another heavy dollop fit well across his tongue.

 

Ray fucking _squealed_ and his hands shot up to his face in instinct to smother up the embarrassing sound. He accidentally smacked his glasses off his face and he covered his burning cheeks, a quieter set of whimpers going off behind his palm. Ryan's tongue was so wet and new against hypersensitive skin that had barely been touched by himself, let alone anyone else. He'd hardly dared to daydream of such an act. He heard his Alpha's audible swallow and the ragged pants for breath. Bleary eyes popped open and he looked down the line of his body to see Ryan staring up at him, brow knit like he was concerned. His pupils were blown so wide the blue was almost eaten up, just pale rings around an animalistic gaze that regarded him as _mate_ and the unspoken bond thrummed between them. The Gent's lips were ruddy from use and now shimmering. Ray knew that was _his_ slick on them and he had to chew his palm to make sure he didn't moan again.

“Your glasses,” Ryan husked, his usually smooth voice shot to hell with the coating of delicious Omega slick all through his throat.

 

“Don’t stop,” Ray begged, words muffled by the lace of his fingers. “I’ll find them later. God, Rye, Alpha – don't fucking stop.”

 

Ryan nodded dumbly, holding tight to the shuddering thighs. He dipped back down without hesitation and dragged his tongue along the rim again. Ray bucked but it was weak and he held the boy down with barely a flex of his arms. With another swallow of slick, he pressed his cheek to the boy's thigh to take a moment to collect himself. His own shoulders were threatening to shake, finger twitching as the drunk feeling washed through him. Omega slick was chock full of hormones that triggered every receptor Alpha's had – both statuses made to belong together right down to their DNA. He traced the fluttering rim and he tried not to outright moan against the boy's sensitive flesh, going in circles to get him used to the touch.

  
It was like drinking sun-warmed honey from a jar – just that edge of not-quite-sweet and savory. Vanilla drops right to the tongue, almost meaty with how thick it sat in his stomach.

 

Ryan needed more.

 

How many nights had he spent dreaming about this very moment? He clenched his eyes shut and tried to reign himself in but he was more consumed than he'd anticipated being. Ray's slick was intoxicating and he swore he felt the world tilt. N _ext time I'll take my time, do it right._

 

“Forgive me, sweetheart, I can't help myself.”

 

The grumbled words met Ray's ears and managed to get past the thump of his own rushing blood. He frowned and tried to look down, fingers scrambling for a blurry hand or blonde hair. “Rye?”

 

All fear that there was something wrong faded immediately because the Alpha plunged his tongue straight inside. It was a sudden shock and Ray cried out, fingers clawing noisily at the carpet above his head. The silky muscle was so _strong_ and his hole clamped down to feel every bit of it. Ryan was hormone drunk, he could feel it with every messy movement and had seen it in his eyes. The Lad couldn't deny that he was gone as well. He was thankful that evolution had given Alphas all the right receptors to be so addicted to Omega slick – to react to the chemicals and hunger for it so that their mates could be so more easily opened up, tongue and fingers stretching the way for fat cocks and even fatter knots.

 

Ray had never had anything inside him other than his slim fingers and now his Alpha was eating him out like he was starving. He would've thought a smooth, romantic guy like Ryan would want to take his time but he couldn't complain. He was too worked up, he wasn't sure if he could stand to have it drawn out. That must have been what the apology had been about. His amazing Alpha was just as wrecked as he was and that was a comfort. His vision was blurred up from more than lack of glasses, the intensity of the sensation had brought up a humiliating well of tears. Smooth legs kicked with each gush of slick and hard flick of the man's tongue, heels brushing broad shoulders.

 

Ray's chest started to get tight and the pressure on his balls increased, the hot flash radiating from where his Alpha was licking him open becoming too much. Nonsense spilled out of his mouth as he raked his fingers through his hair, across the floor, nails scrambling to get on the other's skin to warn him that he was going to burst.

 

“A-Alpha, stop, I'm gonna' – fucking shit, Rye, I'm gonna die. It's – it's too _much_.” His voice cracked. “Your fucking mouth should be illegal. You can't just start tongue fucking a guy and not give a God damn warning, you asshole!” The faux-angry snarl hiccuped into a whine when the man's tongue dove particularly deep and curled up against his wet walls. “How are you enjoying this? Jesus fucking – please, there, fucking fuck, _there_.”

 

The last word squeaked out of his throat and his body went tight as a bow string, arching up from hips to throat in one long curve. His hand fumbled over his cock but he spilled before he ever got a change to touch himself. He settled for grinding his pulsing dick into the cradle of his palm. Ray could feel his hole trying to bare down on Ryan's tongue and the Alpha gladly lapped up the thin gushes of slick. He rocked into it, riding the wet sensation and letting himself spill into a complete mess.

 

Ryan was still licking into him. He tried to push him away but he couldn't quite reach his head, too weak to sit up. “I can't, Rye, stop.”

 

Another deep caress made his head fall back. A sour note hit deep in his belly.

 

“Too much,” Ray repeated in a low whisper, thighs quivering now from over-sensitivity. Ryan growled and he felt it tickle his rim. “Rye, please, I-I'm spent. You milked me dry, Alpha.”

 

Ryan's shoulders rolled and then his head lifted, mouth and chin soaked with slick. The Omega's legs were gently lowered and more comfortably set on each side of his waist. He blinked dully at him a few times and lazily swiped the back of his hand over his lips. He eyed the glimmer on his skin before he closed his eyes tight and cleared his throat. When Ryan opened his eyes again there was some color there and the hungry furrow in his brow was gone, clarity returned. He looked embarrassed, mortified, but there was great satisfaction.

 

Ray smiled and reached out for him with grabbing hands. “Alpha.”

 

“Omega.” Ryan quickly covered him and cupped his jaw, searching his face nervously. “I'm so sorry, Ray. I wanted to take my time but you taste...” Blonde lashes fluttered wildly for a moment over slowly cooling eyes. “God, Ray, you taste amazing. I couldn't think.”

 

“Take your time?” Ray gurtled out a rough laugh. “Ryan, you fucking dork, if you'd gone any slower you'd been going backwards. I came like a rocket. Do you see this shit?”

 

They both looked down between them at the soaked spot in the front of Ray's underwear. There was a beat of silence before they shared a half-hysteric chuckle. The nerves from what they'd just done worked into their fingers and down through their legs as minute trembles. They butted foreheads while stupid smile curved their lips. Ryan went to kiss him and the Omega laughed in his face.

 

Ryan touched his face and he really was _soaked_ in slick. He brought up his shirt and wiped it all over, cleaning himself up before flashing a smile.

 

“There you are.” Ray gave a silly coo before he let their lips mesh.

 

“Wanted it all to be perfect,” the Alpha muttered into his mouth, unwilling to break the sweet contact long enough to speak properly. The boy cupped both sides of his face and made him pull away, faces so close their noses brushed.

 

“Ryan, dude,” Ray panted lightly, lips just as eager to be back on the other's, “It doesn't need to be perfect. I've wanted to kiss you the second I fucking saw you. You've been drawing this courtship out forever, and I appreciate the respect, _Alpha_.” He knocked their foreheads almost painfully. “But we're mates now, and I want you like this. I don't want perfect – I want you. I want us.”

 

Ryan's heart gave a brief pang. “Ray-”

 

“I am covered in jizz. We are not perfect, okay? So just let that go.” He tugged on the man's hair until he winced and growled at him to stop. “You blew my fucking mind and I just need you to cuddle the shit out of me right now, okay?”

  
Ryan noticed the shivers going through his body and he knew he was going to drop if he wasn't careful. He crooned little nothings in Ray's ear as he carefully tugged off his cum and slick soaked underwear. He easily picked the boy up and laid him out on the couch, guiding his hands up around his own waist to give him something to grab onto. Ray's eyes were so dark and there was a paleness edging into his skin. “Just hold onto me and close your eyes. You're going to be alright, sweetheart, just don't let go.”

 

Ray nodded and obeyed, shoulders visibly shaking now. “I don't feel good. It's weird.”

 

“This is perfectly normal,” Ryan promised as he settled over the boy, covering him with his warmth and being careful to avoid letting those sensitive bits grind against his jeans. “You're just a little overwhelmed. Lay still and listen to just my voice, okay? It's fine if you can't hear all the words, you just need to stay with me.”

 

Ray shook his head, confused, but he whine happily when the Alpha cradled his head close and tucked his lips up against his ear.

 

“My beautiful Omega,” Ryan purred, and all the tightness within Ray's chest squirmed like it wanted to unravel. “I was such a bad Alpha. You told me to stop and I didn't listen. This is instinct fighting the domination of an inferior Alpha. I should have listened, I should have taken care of you but I had a selfish moment. Your taste is so exquisite, Ray, I'm so lucky to have you and your trust.”

 

Ray's distressed sounds churned up until he finally released a small chitter, curious and hesitantly pleased.

 

“And I won't let you go, not if you don't want me to,” Ryan swore with fierce sincerity. “You're safe, right here, with me. I've waited so long for you to be here and I know you have too. We've earned everything we have so don't think for one second you don't belong here with me. We're not perfect, remember?” He buried his nose in the boy's dark hair. “I'll take better care of you in the future, I promise. My sensitive boy, you're so receptive and I pushed you a little too hard. But you did so well. You made your Alpha so happy making such a beautiful mess. Can I clean you up, Ray?”

 

Ray noise was pure animal and he butted into Ryan, sliding a sloppy kiss over his lips. He muttered his name happily and nodded, spreading his legs and pulling at his shirt.

 

“There's my sweet boy.” Ryan bussed their noses as he pried the Lad's fingers out of his shirt and brought them up to lace in his hair. “Hold on to me.”

 

Ray's mindless noises of pleasure kicked up a notch as the Alpha started licking the streaks of cooling spunk on his skin. It was starchy and a tad bitter but he wanted it all if only to greedily have all his Omega's pleasure. He lapped more gently below his sack and along his rim, enjoying the musky warmth while he took up the last slick so it didn't irritate his mate's skin. Ray tugged at his hair but it didn't hurt. The sting kept him grounded and away from getting lost in the taste again. He scolded himself for ruining his slow seduction and then not listening but he would make up for it.

 

They would have a long talk about the delicate balance of domination later.

 

Ryan sat up and the Omega made another kittenish sound, the boy's eyes still close as he tried to crawl into his lap. He managed to unbutton and push down his jeans with Ray mouthing damp kisses on his neck. A blanket was taken from the pile at the end of the couch and he wrapped up the naked Omega. Ray cooed and his eyes cracked open, blinking up at his Alpha wish such innocence that it damn near broke his heart.

 

“Here we go,” Ryan hushed as he laid on his side, back to the couch, and pulled Ray down in front of him. The boy buried his face in his chest and bundled his arms up in the blanket, nose searching impulsively for a scent gland. He found it and settled against the Gent with a quiet sigh.

 

“ 'M sorry,” Ray slurred, “Don't know why I got all dumb.”

 

Ryan tucked the boy's head closer, chin settling on top of his hair. “Hush.”

 

The Omega drifted in the safe space his Alpha had created for him. Ryan pet through his hair and down his back, across his shoulders, and down his sides over the blanket. He tucked the warm material up around his neck to keep him warm but otherwise let him rest in his arms.

 

“Ryan?”

 

Ryan picked up his head and smiled at the curious Alpha pup that had wandered out of the bedroom. Dan was looking them over and subtly sniffing the air. His cheeks pinked up and he averted his eyes, shoulders slumping submissively even as he licked his lips.

 

“Dan,” Ryan rumbled.

 

“Is everything alright?” the Brit inquired hesitantly. “I thought I smelled...”

 

Ryan knew exactly what the boy had been smelling. Ray had been briefly given off distressed Omega scent signals and it must have triggered some protective instincts.

 

“You know what would help? If you got the Snickers out of the cabinet and a bottle of water.”

  
Dan jumped to obey and he returned quickly with both items. He knelt down beside the couch and offered them. Ryan propped his lightly dozing Omega up on the couch pillow and brought the water bottle to his lips. Ray happily drank down a few slow gulps at his Alpha's request and was even coaxed into take a couple small bites of chocolate. It seemed to perk him up and when he snuggled back into Ryan it was with more awareness, brought up enough from his stupor that he could keep his eyes open longer than a few seconds.

 

Dan rested his head on Ray's hip and snuggled in with a slightly worried whine. Ryan hushed him and laid back down. The couple's combined sweet roll scent now started to absorbed that savory, outside smell of the Brit and the room filled with it. Powdered sugar and sand thrown over a fire, thick and pouring down until their lungs. A sluggish hour passed and they drifted to the sound of the others breathing. Ray would occasionally shift but he had two pairs of Alpha hands to pet him back down into his lull. Ryan knew that Omegas could experience this kind of drift, this floating and fuzziness, but he could feel it too. From Dan's peaceful expression and soft puffs of breath, the pup was experiencing it too. They were feeding off Ray's contentment.

 

It was like a drug and they had all fallen under its influence.

 

o0o

 

About an hour later, Ray stretched and yawned and wiggled out of the blanket. Ryan insisted on carrying him to the bedroom to get some new clothes. They stopped by the bathroom to properly clean the Omega and it was a relief to feel fresh after napping in his musk. He got a new pair of boxers and tugged on Michael's stolen tank before he flopped down in the bed. Ryan tugged on some old basketball shorts despite his Omega's whine to _show him his cock already_ , but he did strip off his shirt.

 

“That's what I'm talking about,” Ray drawled despite how spent he was.

 

Ryan glanced at the doorway and caught a glimpse of Dan's hovering form. The pup tried to repeat but he called his name, nodding at him to get in the bedroom. Dan walked inside and his eyes nervously danced from the Omega's doped-up expression to the older man's wide chest and the pale expanse of his back. He wasn't sure what to say but followed the crooked finger that beckoned him forward.

 

“You alright?” Ryan inquired carefully as his fingers slid under the hem of the Brit's shirt.

 

Dan nodded quickly. “Are you guys?”

 

“I'm great,” Ray promised with a full body undulation that had him sprawled over all the pillows.

 

“Me too,” Ryan added, tugging at his shirt. “Why don't you lay with us for a while?”

 

Dan was about to protest, to say that the couple needed some alone time after being so intimate, but then Ryan seared a kiss across his mouth. The man's tongue dipped between his lips without so much as a whispered suggestion. Something deep and sweet spread through his mouth and he moaned out loud when he realized it was _Ray_. He didn't feel worthy or ready and he tried to pull away but a strong hand fell on the back of his neck. It kept him close, head falling back a bit for the man to thoroughly give him a taste. He shivered against Ryan and touched his bare shoulder in an effort to anchor himself.

 

They parted with a wet sound and Dan dipped his head down to nose at the older Alpha's throat. It wasn't a challenge but an acknowledgement, a non-verbal request to join in their nest. Ryan kissed the boy's temple before tugging at his shirt. Dan frowned slightly but once he understood he smiled and shed it, showing off his fit torso like he had a while ago in the office. This time Ryan's eyes were appreciative, his lips curled in a smile instead of twisted into an annoyed scowl. They eyed each other and it went beyond the usual Alpha appreciation and there may have been some flexing.

 

Ray snickered. “You guys gonna' jerk each other off or are you gonna' get in here?”

 

The Alphas laughed shyly at their obvious flirtation before crawling into bed. Ryan laid on his side, head resting comfortably upon his Omega's hip. Fingers started to play in his blonde hair and he hummed, pushing into it encouragingly. Dan dropped on his belly and pulled a blanket under his chin, arms folded under it to prop his head up. He was close enough to touch but he gave them their space. This was a trial period, after all, he needed to see how well he fit.

 

It turned out there was no worry for that. They started to talk and joke and time faded away from them, the world slowly getting smaller until it was just the three of them and the borders of the bed. It started out small, like how long Dan had left on his tour and the _Let's Plays_ the group was planning. But as the sun started to fade in the windows their words started to hold more meaning.

 

Ryan described where he grew up and the farm that was less than a mile from his house, how they had trees that grew the most stereotypical Georgia peaches. He could still remember how ripe they were, practically bursting when he sank his teeth into them. He showed the scar on his knee from where he'd tried to climb the fence one too many times to steal fruit. With a little prompting from his Omega, he talked about the first Alpha he'd ever fooled around with.

 

“He was taller than me,” Ryan confessed, cheek pressed tight to Ray's covered thigh, eyes closed as he remembered the details. “His accent was almost gone. He had dark hair and these thighs could feed a family of four. He played a lot of soccer and he had the form to show for it. He was always sunburnt...and he liked history classes.”

 

“You let him knot you?” Ray asked gently with a little tug of his hair.

 

“Yeah. You would've too if you'd seen him,” Ryan admitted. He didn't like the hoarseness emotion had given his voice so he cleared his throat. “I'd tried to be with an Omega just a few weeks before that but it hadn't worked out. I'd told him about it and he'd offered to show me how...how good it could be.”

 

There was a an old fondness in his tone and Ray liked it, savored it.

 

Dan untucked a hand and rubbed it over the other man's arm. “What happened with the Omega?”

 

“It was so awkward,” Ryan laughed, hiding his face in Ray's smooth skin. “I was really fucking skinny and I looked like a Beta more than anything. This girl was nice but I could tell she was disappointed from the second I took my shirt off. I tried to make it good for her but I had no idea what I was doing. I couldn't have knotted if she'd wanted me to.”

 

“So?” Ray prompted.

 

“So I got fucked by that hot soccer player and decided it was high time I learned how to be an Alpha,” Ryan continued, drawling each word so the boys hung onto them. “I took an anatomy class and started free-range research. I read every sex book and even took notes.”

 

“Nerd,” Ray interrupted, but the Brit pinched him and he shut up.

 

The Gent shrugged. “I was. I started ruling out myth from fact and I talked to all of my Omega friends. I watched instructional videos about anything and everything to please a partner of any status. I knew sex was more than insert-pole-A-into-slot-B. I learned how to massage and use every piece of me to make someone happy. It was all I had ever wanted, anyway. I knew I could satisfy them emotionally and it became a relief to know that I could be there for them physically too. Eventually my confidence overshadowed my lack of Alpha features.”

 

Ryan ran his fingers down his mate's knee. “And now that I better fit the part, all that knowledge is just a _perk_.”

  
“I'll fucking say it is.” Ray shot a cocky smirk at Dan. “This guys is a miracle worker with that tongue. Hand to God – I saw stars. And lights. And maybe my eyes did that swirly-squiggle thing they do in cartoons. Even if I felt shitty for a minute, it was fucking awesome."

 

“Lucky Lad,” Dan teased, waggling his eyebrows before he looked to Ryan. “I need to know, mate. How did that time with the Alpha go?”

 

Ray sat up on his elbows, eager eyes practically glowing.

 

“It was great,” Ryan assured them, his smile on the edge of dopey. “He went slow and listened, did consent checks. He made it _very_ good for me. He said I was as pretty as an Omega, and I...I let him knot me like one. It wasn't as easy as it would've been with an Omega but it was one of the most intense things I'd ever felt. I enjoyed it.”

 

Ray's mouth dropped open.

 

Dan put his knuckles to his mouth and tried to stifle his whine.

 

Ryan turned his face back into his Omega's hip to hide the shy blush of color that had come across his cheeks. “I enjoyed it several times, actually. We skipped all our classes the next day and didn't get out of bed.”

 

“You fucking _animal_!” Ray shrieked with a huge grin, hand slapping hard on the Alpha's back. Ryan jumped and looked up but his Omega was full of mirth. The boy was dissolving into laughter though there was a distinctive bulge in his boxers. “I can't believe it! No, no, I _can_ , it all makes sense. That's amazing and seriously fucking hot. You sexy ass knot-licker.”

 

Ryan growled and caught his boy's chin, sitting up and hovering over him. “Watch it, Omega, or I'll have you licking _mine._ ”

 

Ray snapped his teeth playfully and got a quick kiss as a reward. He stopped Ryan before he could settle further down on the bed. “Seriously, Rye, that's really cool. Lucky Lad, right? To get such a progressive Alpha.”

 

“Not as lucky as me.”

 

Dan made a loud gagging sound and they stopped making disgusting gooey eyes at each other.

 

“Feeling ignored?” Ray grabbed the Brit by the arm and manhandled him up closer until their arms pressed together. “I would ask you but I don't want to know what Gav's like in bed.”

 

“Hey, toss it, I was with plenty of people before Gav.”

 

The couple shared a look.

 

“Really?” Ryan prompted. “Like who?”

 

“Like, you know, Beta birds.”

 

Ray grinned. “Is that slang or did you fuck birds? I know your dick's not that small.”

 

“I was with a few people before him,” Dan swore as he propped himself up on his elbow.

 

“Anything serious?” the Omega needled.

 

“Nothing more than a few weeks, got to a couple months once or twice, but not really. You?”

 

Ray shrugged a shoulder. “Nothing but boring girlfriends that only lasted a week. That's just New York, though.”

 

“What about here in the city?”

 

Ray dragged his fingers along the span of his mate's shoulder and he got a content, low sound. “There was only one person for me in Texas. And it was super pathetic.”

 

Ryan lifted his head and shot the boy a wink. “Same.”

 

“You two are so gross,” Dan chuckled light-heartedly. “Really, I'll hurl right here. Give me the tiny bin, yeah?”

 

Two pillows plopped him on the head and he squawked in protest.

 

* * *

 

 

**Thank you all for you amazing feedback, your love, your comments, your tumblr suggestions. I adore and treasure every one of them but I sometimes get a little crippled and can't reply for a few days because I'm so lovingly overwhelmed. But every comment or kudos makes me write that much faster :)**

 

 

 


	71. Ryan, Ray, and Dan VI

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end of the Dan Arc

**Whew, it's been a while. I know this is the second time for a long break but this was the last time. From now on, I want to aim for every other update or so to be this story. Forgive me for neglecting it, Bioshock AU got in the way. But we're BACK! Thank you everyone for your warm comments, your well wishes, and your general love for all things Emono. You guys keep my spirits so high.**   
  
**And sadly, it's the end of the Dan arc, and we're sad to see him go. Also, it's been long enough, I would recommend going back and reading the last few chaps.**

 

* * *

 

 

Dan knew he couldn't avoid the RT office forever. Messages from the others were building up in his phone and there were already two ignored calls from Gavin sitting in his voice mail. He'd submerged himself in the calm environment of Ryan's house and it had spoiled him. He'd sunk into the routine of hot coffee and clean sheets. He liked casually laying his legs across Ryan's lap while they watched TV or how the older Alpha settled the throw blanket over them when the sun faded from the curtains. He liked waking up from naps and sniffing the sweet scent that rested at the soft nape of Ray's neck.

 

Having an Alpha to rub his back and an Omega to laugh and nose under his jaw had lulled him into a state of complacency. It was only a few days but it had been Heaven, pure bliss.

 

When the bruise on his throat had settled into a cool blossom of color, Dan decided to go to back. A safety bubble was nothing if his best friend was upset with him.

 

Dan had a high collar leather jacket that Gavin liked to tease him about and the weather made it ridiculous, but he didn't want anyone running spreading any more gossip. It was early noon and Ryan had promised to try and get the rest of the guys out of the office so they could talk alone. He'd texted Gavin and asked him to stay behind so they could eat and his B had readily agreed.

 

Dan opened up the door and the excited scent of spring flower petals and fresh cut grass hit him full in the face. It was like home, plain and simple. He took a great big breath of it and sighed happily, heart tittering while the tension melted from his shoulders. It reminded him of late nights playing video games and junk food and laughing until he cried over stupid thing. The fresh scent seemed to open up his mind, airing out the cobwebs of his thoughts and breathing life into why exactly he was here.

 

Gavin had been fiddling with a camera in the middle of the room and, hearing the door, he'd turned too face him. Their eyes met and the Omega burst into a big smile. “B!”

 

“Hey, Gav,” Dan greeted with sincere relief. There were barely a few heartbeats before Gavin tackled him into a hug, spikes of golden brown hair tickling his chin and cheek. Dan took him in his arms and squeezed him close, tilting his head so that the Omega could nuzzle over his scent glands. When they were in the same city, it was rare they went a day without scenting or at least messaging each other. They clung onto each other for much too long, both starving for the contact.

 

“Where are we going to eat?” Gavin asked as he slowly pulled away, hands lingering on the soldier's broad shoulders.

 

“Well, Gav, before that...”

 

The Omega's smile started to fade and his eyes danced down to the mark on his throat that was peaking from the top of his jacket. “What's this?”

 

Dan sighed and took a step back, fingers coming up to pop the snap at the top of his jacket. The second button, then the zipper. He pulled back the leather to show off the purple bloom with green edges. He'd examined it thoroughly in the mirror this morning – there were still faint indents from Ryan's teeth and it hadn't helped that Ray kept suckling at it like he could lick the older Alpha's lingering scent out of his flesh with just his small tongue. He wasn't ashamed but the tips of his ears burned as he thought of his best friend staring at Ryan's mark.

 

Gavin's nose twitched. “You smell like Ryan. And Ray.”

 

“I've been staying with Ryan, you knew that,” Dan stated. “I had to get away for a little, B. I needed to clear my head a bit. And while I was there we got rather close.”

 

“ 'Rather close'?” Gavin repeated in disbelief. “Is that from _Ryan_?”

 

Dan nodded slowly, wincing at the way the other Brit's expression darkened considerably. It was anger at first but then it twisted into something worse, into _hurt_. His lips pursed and his brows furrowed up, the skin around his eyes tight as he tried to keep it from showing on his face. Dan wanted to drag him back into a hug but he felt that he would be shoved away. He didn't expect Gavin to take the news well, his friend hated change, but he didn't expect for him to look so pained.

 

Gavin swallowed dryly before he finally spoke. “Are you doing this to get back to me?”

 

Dan blinked dully at the Omega. He was almost too baffled to register the words. “What?”

 

“When we were together, I could never forget Geoff,” Gavin confessed. “I-I never cheated but I wasn't really there. I know that now. I didn't give us a real chance.”

 

“B,” Dan breathed, still confused.

 

“And I know that Ray's the best smelling thing to come through this office,” Gavin continued, more heartbroke than bitter. “He isn't as clumsy or high strung as me. He's shy and Alphas _love_ that. He smells like icing on warm cake and I'm just old flowers on some old bird's table.”

 

The Omega's cheeks burned and he rubbed his arm nervously. “You've been enamored since you came back and I felt bad for you but Ray's practically bloody mated now and I can't help but think that...that I wasn't good enough or something. I always thought that if you took another Omega it would be your soulmate or whatever, maybe some pretty Omega to settle down with and have kids.”

 

“Christ,” Dan spat. “How old do you think I am? I'm too young to be thinking about any of that rubbish.”

 

“You're the type!” Gavin exclaimed, tossing his hand in emphasis. “It isn't right for a nice bloke like that you to be mixing into a mated couple.”

 

“You fucking hypocrite,” Dan seethed, canines itching dangerously. “So if it's alright for you to fall into bed with an Alpha and Omega but I do and – what – I'm a fucking _slag_?”

 

Gavin's lips went tight again. “Look at that bruise, B, for fuck's sake. You can't tell me Ryan would mark up someone like that without thinking of them as just _competition_?”

 

Dan stepped forward and snagged Gavin by the collar. He yanked the Omega around and pushed him up against the door, crowding into his space and growling softly.

 

“B?” Gavin whimpered, staring at the man with wide eyes. He wasn't used to Dan being so dominant and handling him like this. It wasn't an uncommon occurrence for friendships between the dynamics but theirs had always been reversed, Dan had always submitted to him in the general flow of life. But there was pure _Alpha_ in his eyes and in the furious curl of his mouth. Gavin jumped when fingers hooked in the neck of his shirt and pulled it down to show off the half-bite bruise that looked like Michael's pert mouth. There were two distinct Omega fang marks still within it. “Look at yours.”

 

“Mine's from my mate!” Gavin protested, not daring to smack his hand away. Dan's growl rumbled from deep within his chest and the Omega shuddered and slumped submissively against the door. There was something like agony sketched into his best friend's dark eyes and the way his fingers curled in his shirt to hold him in place bordered on desperate.

 

“Why does everything I do have to be about you?” Dan spoke in a tight, strained voice that walked the edge of breaking. Gavin whined but the sound did nothing to appease the Alpha. “I have _always_ given you everything I've had and I will do it for fucking ever but you can't...you can't make me feel like shit about this.” Dan's mouth trembled and his grip relaxed. “It's not _fair_.”

 

Gavin choked from the invisible fist that was suddenly buried deep in his chest, fingers curled tight around his heart. “Dan?”

 

The Alpha leaned into him and touched their foreheads, both sighing at the intimate touch.

 

“I know how it looks,” Dan lamented. “They're your friends, and I'm not trying to steal them or whatever it is you're thinking. I'm not trying to hurt anyone – not them, and especially not you.” He took a shuddery breath. “You don't have to understand it, you just have to let me do this. And if it's a mistake then it's mine to make.”

 

Gavin made a tiny, Omegan sound and brushed their noses. “You've always protected me, why can't I protect you?”

 

“I don't need protected,” Dan assured him.

 

A pink tongue darted out and wet the boy's dry lips. “So this isn't because Ray smells better than me? Or has something I don't?”

 

“Don't be a punk bitch, B,” Dan joked weakly. “You're bloody perfect.”

 

Gavin wrapped his arms around his friend's shoulders and scratched his short nails through dark hair. That got a more sincere smile out of the soldier and it warmed over his heart. “I do make things about me, don't I?”

 

Dan hesitated but he swayed into the hug and playfully scrubbed their foreheads together. “Just all the time.”

 

“I'm a right tosser,” Gavin huffed with a faint sadness.

 

“I didn't know what to expect.” Dan laid his hands on the Omega's hips and it felt good to have him so close again. He took a leisurely inhale of the fresh scent and let it fill his lungs until he felt the warm tickle of Omega hormones licking at his senses. But there was something damp about the scent and it dug at him. “Be honest with me, Gav. Talk to me.”

 

“I-I think I'm uncomfortable with you being with them,” Gavin admitted reluctantly. He felt awful just saying it but the honest bond between the two of them was something he treasured.

 

Dan swallowed past the lump in his throat but nodded. “Alright. Can you tell me why, love?”

 

“It's stupid,” Gavin protested. He took his arms back and rubbed the back of his hand over his face, trying to clear the burn he felt on his cheeks. He crossed them over his chest instead in a protective stance that wasn't lost on the soldier.

 

“Your feelings aren't stupid,” Dan promised quickly to squelch any room for doubt.

 

“I don't know, it's just – I, well.” Gavin cleared his throat and fidgeted around. “I've watched them come together and _we_ used to be together. Ray is one of my best friends and we're really close.”

 

The Omega huffed through his nose. “Shit, I snogged him once when I was sloshed off my arse.”

 

Dan's jaw dropped. “You did?”

 

Gavin nodded. “Nipped Rye up a bit when we've scented.”

 

“ _Oh_.”

 

“If I hadn't been with you or fallen for Geoff and Michael, I would've gladly gone with either of them,” Gavin admitted shyly. “It seems a little incestuous now, yeah?”

 

Dan bit the side of his lip. “A bit.”

 

Gavin's eyes darted down to watch the motion before he stepped up to peck his mouth in a chaste kiss. They both smiled but it didn't go any further. They could taste their Alphas on each other's lips and it was strangely _right_ despite how unsettled Gavin was.

 

“I'm not asking you to just accept it like it's the easiest thing in the world, because I sure as hell know it's not.” Dan pet down his friend's arm and let their fingers mingle. “But I wasn't going to lie to you. Not telling you would be wrong. You're my B.”

 

Gavin squeezed his hand. “And you're mine too. This is just a lot, yeah? You'll let me sleep on it a bit before I'm alright to, uh, talk about it and stuff.”

 

“Of course,” Dan brushed off quickly. “I don't want to make any waves. All of your relationships...I don't want to muck 'em up. Especially since I'm only here so long.”

 

Gavin gave a short, low whine. “God, I almost forgot. This leave was a gift and we've spent most of it dancing around each other.”

 

Dan never let go of his hand. “It'll be better now?”

 

“Of course!” Gavin promised with a big smile. “Come back to the house. Let's have dinner with the guys. And maybe, you know, come back here more often."

 

Dan hid a sigh of relief. “I love hanging out here, and I'm hungry for some of Geoff's cooking – but I want to stay with Ryan.”

 

The young Omega sucked his teeth but he nodded. This new development would be a compromise and he knew he'd already been an ass about it. It didn't sit right in his chest but he had to work through it and the first steps were now. It was too easy to wallow in the bitterness of change and to do that would lose him everything he loved.

 

“I know you can handle yourself.” It was the only honest thing Gavin could get out and the sweet smile Dan gave him warmed his heart. “Let's go get something really greasy. I want to _hurt_ later. I'm buying.”

 

They went out of the office and down the street to the little diner Lindsay had showed them and not once did Gavin let go of his friend's hand.

 

He'd almost let go once, he wouldn't do it again.

 

o0o0o0o

 

Geoff, being the natural Pack Alpha that he was, had young Alpha radiating to him like he had a knot magnet in his pants. If he stood in one place too long the others in the office would gravitate towards him until he had a little bundle of them paling around him. Even Ryan wasn't immune to this invisible charm.

 

This time, Geoff had just been hanging out on the second floor platform looking out at the main hub of the office with a fond smile. Ryan had joined him for some people-watching and they talk in low, casual tones about nothing in particular. Blaine jogged up and plopped down at Geoff's feet like a puppy, one leg hanging over the edge while he rested his head on the bars. He got a fond pat on the head and it the boy's smile was infectious. Chris, the lanky Alpha that he was, wandered up and took opposite of Ryan. The two chatted about some of the classics they'd been trying to get through lately and they agreed with a snicker that _The Three Musketeers_ was the best plot but one of the most boring books they'd ever tried to plow through.

 

Aaron, a fit new Alpha in the office, came up as well. There was a soft frizzle from the tension of unfamiliarity but with a nod at Geoff to show respect it died out. He fist-bumped with Blaine and then put his elbows on the railing, bending over a bit to rest his weight there. It was a damn near perfect imitation of the Pack Alpha's stance and Ryan thought it was adorable.

 

The group talked about nothing in particular until a flurry of activity quieted them down. There was a series of squeals and a trademark squawk before Gavin burst through the room and vaulted himself over the counter in the kitchen area. Dan bolted after him and he ate up the distance in half the time but stopped at the counter. The two friends were sharing a playful snarl as they slowly circled the counter, eyes never leaving each other. Dan made a few mock-grabs at him but the Omega barely feinted. Every moment spoke of how old this dance was between them, cat-and-mouse ranging all the way back to times before words could express the act. It was a simple game and a bit of fun, and from the deep laughter coming from the AH office Ray and Michael were engaging the same way despite their same status.

 

When Dan finally caught Gavin, the soldier's shirt rode up and the smaller boy's squirming showed off the firm flex of belly and the start of a dark treasure trail. Ryan sighed a little and braced his weight a little harder on the rail but his smile was pure affection. The two friends climbed all over each other down below and it was Aaron who gave a whistle of appreciation. Geoff started to bristle, thinking he was admiring Gavin's pinkened cheeks or the swell of his ass in those tight jeans when he was thrown over his friend's shoulder. Surprisingly the young Alpha was watching Dan's thick form as he showed off his strength and the brilliant smile splitting his face.

 

Chris gave a harmless laugh. “You only like him because he kind of looks like you.”

 

“He looks _nothing_ like Aaron,” Ryan snorted.

 

“Dark hair, chiseled jaw, all muscly and stuff.” Chris waggled his eyebrows impishly. “And Aaron loves a challenge.”

 

“I do,” said Alpha admitted, lips curling in a grin when Gavin got Dan to the floor and straddled the Alpha, both laughing as the smaller started slapping at his head. Each blow was blocked with the firm bulge of forearms but his sounds were pathetic as he tried to get Gavin to stop. “Too bad he's not an Omega. Imagine the wrestling match there. God, we'd get so worked up. He'd look amazing on the end of my knot.”

 

Blaine hummed in mild agreement. “They sure do make them pretty in England.”

 

The combined scents coming from the floor started to narrow down to just two – happy, lush spring and salty, heated sand with a sprinkle of sweetness that had the three young Alphas inhaling almost in unison to chase. Ryan kept his cool but his knuckles were bleaching with his increasing grip.

 

Chris was almost panting when he piped up. “Think he'd do it anyway?”

 

Blaine and Aaron both perked up at this. Ryan could feel a vein in his temple throbbing.

 

“I-I mean, he's such a cool guy,” Chris gushed with the start of a blush working into his ears. “He's really funny and strong as hell. He's great to chill with.”

  
“He's a prime hang-out buddy,” Blaine pushed.

 

Geoff straightened up and frowned a little at the swell of tension.

 

“Think he'd be down to sign up as a fuck buddy?” Aaron burst, eager eyes roaming over the young Alpha down below. “Shit, I'd love to fuck an Alpha. Just, like, a bro. Dudes, we should get together and ask him over-”

 

“How about you shut the fuck up before he hears you, you little shit?” Ryan snapped. There was more venom in those words than he'd ever expressed with the younger Alphas and they felt it, all three shrinking away with wide eyes. “Do you think it's funny to joke about trying to plan some kind of g _ang bang_ on our friend? You think he'd appreciate being treated like some kind of _novelty_?”

 

“W-We were just going to ask,” Aaron fumbled. He cleared his throat and tried to speak up with more bass. “And it's his decision, right? What's wrong with asking?”

 

The glare Ryan shot him made the boy's mouth snap shut. Geoff laid a hand on his friend's shoulder and gave the young Alpha's an unamused look. “Why don't you three run off and not talk about stupid shit like that again?”

 

There was a faint chorus of apologies as the boys took off together back towards the stairs, Aaron getting a sharp elbow from Chris and an ugly look from Blaine. It seemed their new Alpha was going to get a lesson from his peers without getting bitten into by Ryan's suddenly-itchy canines. Only after they were gone did the blonde release his pent up growl. Geoff denied the shiver that ran through him from the deep, gurtled sound the Alpha emitted.

 

“Brats,” Ryan rumbled before the sound cut out with an embarrassed throat-clearing.

 

“What did you do?” Geoff asked bluntly, hip bumping onto the railing so they faced each other. “Did you fuck him?”

 

“Of course not, Geoff,” Ryan deadpanned.

 

The Alpha wasn't entirely sure if the tone was sarcasm or not and he decided to take it as a joke. “Oh wow. Does Ray know?”

 

“Of course he does.” It was the same sarcastic tone. Geoff tried to read the man's face but it was impossible to tell. Maybe it was the light or maybe Ryan was flexing that iron control he was known for. That was a rare occurrence between them. They'd been fast friends and after those first months, Ryan had always been pretty relaxed around him. To see even a hint of that shield up – it kind of hurt.

 

And it made him only want to sink his teeth in harder.

 

o0o0o0o

 

Ryan drove home a pair of exhausted boys. When they got home he dumped them in front of the TV and headed into the kitchen to make them a big meal. He happily served them heaping plates and brought them drinks. They tiredly thanked him and accepted the treatment with warm hearts.

 

When Ryan slid the plate into Dan's hands, he had leaned down and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “I'm proud of you.”

 

The Brit's grateful smile was reward enough for nearly burning their meal twice.

 

They ate and played a few games, then settled down with some Netflix and the blanket on the back of the couch. There wasn't a lot that needed to be said and they were content to be quiet in the peaceful atmosphere of the house. The whole place was starting to smell like a sweet, outside breakfast from the three of them and all the hormones in one place only kept their scent glands sensitive and active.

 

When they went to bed it was in the way they had spent the evening – together. They got down to their undershirts and boxers, brushed their teeth, and pulled the extra bedding out. It took some coaxing from Ryan but he got Dan to crawl into bed with them, and Ray wiggled between them. Arms draped around each other, hands curling into blankets and over the curves of relaxing bodies.

 

“This is nice,” the Omega had sighed as his boyfriend and his friend settled in. He nosed at Ryan's chest as he took Dan's arm and dragged it further around him. The soldier scented lightly at the collar of his shirt near his nape and he gave a tiny chitter, throat pulling at the foreign sound. He so rarely used it and Ryan huffed into his hair when he heard it. Ray had received a kiss then, the older Alpha's hands drifting behind him to pet through dark hair to soothe his other bedmate.

 

The night wore on and they hardly shifted, the three sleeping soundly in the quiet room. The air conditioner whirred and the wind picked up outside, the windows whispering at the movement. The sheets hardly made a sound when legs shifted around and there were sighs from dreaming mouths, noses sometimes blindly seeking pulse points in an instinctual borrowing.

 

Ray woke with a dry mouth and chapped lips. He groaned in annoyance and wiggled out from between the Alphas to head to the bathroom. He drank out of the tap in the darkness and lapped the drops from his palm. He was too thirsty to realize how much he'd downed and when he stopped he could feel the full strain of his belly. He found some chapstick and then took a piss. When he got around to washing his hands he was already half asleep.

  
Ray stumbled back to the bedroom and frowned when he saw things had moved. The blankets had been rumpled up and Dan had rolled over into his old spot, nose buried under Ryan's jaw and a hand lazily fisted in the older man's shirt. The Omega crawled back in and plastered himself along Dan's back with a content sigh, the pillows and covers cool and smelling like the three of them. He gently set his teeth in Dan's shirt and went lax. Though it was probably due to his half-gone state, Ray couldn't remember ever being as comfortable as he was now.

 

He heard Ryan grunt before the man's big hand found his hair to sluggishly pet through it, nails dull when they brushed his nape. The man was obviously still asleep but the gesture was no less sweet. Ray rubbed his cheek against the sleeping soldier and decided he liked this.

 

One day he would like this for real.

 

o0o0o0o

 

Dan hung out in the kitchen area of the office and piddled around, looking through the cabinets and raiding the fridge. He couldn't find anything satisfying and eventually he had to accept that he was more bothered than hungry. He'd started the morning scenting with Gavin while the AH office got itself ready to start the day. Their cheeks had brushed and Gavin had nuzzled his collar and it had felt like being home. The pang of nostalgia had planted a seed of doubt that he couldn't quite shake. He thought he'd hidden it well enough but when he turned around he nearly ran into Ryan.

 

“Bloody hell,” Dan cursed as he playfully shoved the Alpha. “I was having a deep-think and you stand there like a damn creeper.”

 

Ryan's exaggerated, casual shrug made him laugh. “You looked like you needed the company.”

 

“I'm fine,” Dan promised as he looked in a cabinet he'd already searched. He plucked out a granola bar and snagged a Gatorade out of the fridge. He sat his snack on the counter top and fiddled with them, fingers starting to fumble on the wrapper of the bar when the Alpha's gaze started burning holes into him. Eventually a hand landed on his shoulder and he dropped the unwanted snack. Dan braced himself against the counter and let out a long, tight breath.

  
“There we go,” Ryan rumbled as he pressed up against the other Alpha's side. He started to firmly rub his palm along the soldier's shoulder blade and made another hushed noise to help ease out the tension within him. Dan picked up his head and looked at him with such _ache_ that he felt the pain within his own chest. “What's wrong? You've been chewing on something all morning.”

 

“It's silly.”

 

Ryan ran a thumb along the shell of his ear and his smile was gentle. “You sound like Ray. And I'll tell you what I tell him – if it upsets you, it's not silly. You pretty boys don't think your emotions are valid just because society tells you it makes you weak.”

  
“It's nothing as serious as all that,” Dan managed a chuckle. “I'm just a bit sick over knowing I have to leave soon.”

 

“You do,” the Alpha sighed. “But you'll come back, and you'll be sorely missed.”

 

The thought touched him but there was still a sour spot in his belly. “Thanks, Rye. It's Gav, though. I'm worried about leaving him behind.”

 

“Selfless brat,” Ryan teased good naturedly as he leaned forward and bumped their heads like a gentle scold. “This is when you should be thinking about yourself and your tour. Gavin is so well taken care of here. We've had...rough spots.” He cleared his throat and squeezed the other's shoulder. “But he had Geoff and Michael now. Nothing is going to happen to him. He and Ray are close, and you know I'll keep an eye on him.”

 

“He just wants to be loved so much,” Dan admitted. “I worry about him. He's never been able to turn down Alpha attention and he's damn lucky he's never go knotted up in a bathroom stall. I'm glad it's just been me and Geoff, despite how he treated him at first. He can be such a follower and he can never think in the moment and-”

 

“Stop.”

 

The command was low and held no heat but Dan snapped his mouth shut

 

“I know.” Ryan's low rasp made the other's mouth dry in the worst way. “Gavin needs to be protected. He's precious to you, and he's a good friend of us all. I...I know what can happen. I'm more angry over it than I can explain.” Dan's head whipped up to look at him and he didn't have the heart to say more. “But he has a strong Pack Alpha to watch him now, and an Omega mate who would sooner rip out someone's throat than see someone put their hands on Gavin.”

 

Dan pursed his lips but nodded, the knots in his stomach starting to unravel. “You really think he's safe?”

 

“I do,” Ryan promised.

 

“I know I was a shit Alpha to him-”

 

Ryan hushed him as he swooped in for a kiss, sealing their lips and stealing the faded trickle of his words. Dan sighed into it and tilted his head as fingers gently urged him to, mouths slotting firmly. The contact was warm and damp, and it was just what he needed.

 

“Ryan,” Dan breathed as he tilted his head back, the older Alpha's lips skimming down past his freshly shaven jaw and to the throb of his pulse. He felt Ryan drag his teeth along it and then down to the mouth-shaped bruise. There was a small, possessive growl before the man kissed it. The sensation sizzled through his nerves and his skin prickled with goosebumps.

 

“Gavin will be fine, and so will you,” Ryan promised as he pulled back, pecking a chaste kiss on his mouth.

 

“Of course we will,” Dan rumbled playfully. “We both have good Alphas to watch over us.”

 

Ryan pinked up adorably as the soldier ran his fingers over his cheek, the ends trailing down to trace the collar of his shirt. They took a brief, intimate moment to scent – cheeks brushing slowly and eyes falling shut as Dan took the comfort he needed from the man's touch.

 

Neither saw Geoff walk up, they didn't see him watch the exchange or listen to their words, and they sure as hell didn't notice him walk back towards the AH office with a frown.

 

o0o0o0o

 

Dan sat with his back to the couch arm and idly watched a re-run of Sunny, trying to figure out what Geoff and Michael saw in it. Ray was reclining on his chest, tucked into his arm and playing on his DS. The Brit had decided to stay at Ray's apartment while their Alpha took the night for himself. Dan's fingers trailed along the boy's shoulder and across his arm, occasionally trailing to the slight jut of his collarbone through his shirt.

 

“Dan?”

 

He hummed and bumped his chin into his hair. “Yeah?”

  
“I love Ryan.”

 

Dan's heart jumped up into his throat and he laid his hand flat on his arm, unsure what to do next. “That's...that's wonderful, yeah.”

 

“No, really.” Ray sat the system in his lap and cocked back his head to look at him as well as he could. “Don't tell him or anything but I do. I like to spend time with him more than anything else.”

 

Dan was a little confused but the other turned back around and picked back up his DS. Ray took his wrist and pulled his arm around him, squirming in closer.

 

“And I like spending time with you.” Dan peaked around and saw the boy was blushing as he spoke. “I mean, you're here, right? So, you know...I like it. When you come back I want to, like, keep doing it.”

 

Dan gasped a little but tried to swallow down his reaction. Instead he snuggled into the boy's hair and wrapped around him and legs bracketing those short legs. “I want to keep doing it too.”

 

“Good,” Ray grunted. “Order some pizza, I'm fucking hungry.”

 

o0o0o0o

 

 **Dgeoff** : _The House of Haywood is cordially invited to come over and get whooped at Peggle_ **  
**

Ryan showed the text to Dan and the soldier looked up from his pile of chicken wings long enough to read it before digging back in, but now he held a smile.

 

“This a double date?” Dan asked with his mouth full, getting the other Alpha to make a disgusted face (which was strangely triumphant).

 

“If we grab Ray it is.”

 

“Text him. My fingers are too greasy.”

 

“You're an animal.”

 

Dan smacked his lips at him and the older Alpha rolled his eyes.

 

o0o

 

Geoff had been marinating two bowls full of steaks all night to feed three needy Omegas and three grown Alphas. He'd whipped up a heavy amount of food for the six of them with (surprisingly) Gavin's help. They'd set up Peggle and had dragged out Gavin's old TV to keep a flow of team games open. Worms, Trials, and Left 4 Dead were kept at the ready between munching and joking. Hours went by and they never quite wound down. They fed on each other's energy and the Lads were all but bouncing around the living room. Though Ryan and Ray abstained, everyone had a couple beers in their belly to make everything seem funny and laughter rang thick throughout the house.

 

Feeling obnoxious and ungrateful, Gavin and Ray disappeared back into the kitchen to raid the cabinets for popcorn. Geoff and Ryan were wrapped up in Peggle, determined to get the achievement. Michael cheered on his Alpha and Dan was on the other side of Ryan, nudging him teasingly about losing to an old man. After the snickers died down and the two Omegas in the kitchen were busy, Geoff cleared his throat. There was something he'd been thinking about for a while and he decided it was now or never.

 

“I never did congratulate you on finally bagging Ray as a mate,” Geoff piped up. “It was a long time coming.”

 

Ryan shot a smile at the man before his eyes went back to the screen. “Thanks. We both just wanted to be sure.”

 

Geoff nodded tightly. “Good. Then you know it's a bad time to be fleshing out your Alpha kink.”

 

The words struck Ryan hard and he frizzled, shoulders tensing up and fingers flexing hard on the controller. Dan didn't miss the way the man's knuckles whitened and it made his own heart pick up an anxious beat. He sat up a little straighter and watched the Pack Alpha closely, wondering how hard he was going to push this. He'd already talked to Ryan about backlash from Dan showing off his mark but he hadn't expected it from Geoff.

 

Michael leaned back and looked towards the kitchen where his other Lads were arguing over popcorn salt flavors. “Guys, maybe this isn't the best time for this.”

 

“No, maybe it's a great time.” Ryan put down the controller and turned to Geoff, eyes hard and burrowing into the older Alpha. “You obviously have something to say.”

 

“Yeah,” Geoff grunted defensively. “Ray's a good kid, but taking a mate is a serious fucking thing. You can walk out on a boyfriend. When you start bonding like mates...you'll fucking kill him playing around with Dan like this.” The soldier bristled and he shot him a tired look. “No offense, kid.”

 

“I'm not a kid,” Dan bit out.

 

“You are,” Geoff pushed. “You all are, or at least you're acting like it.” He snorted bitterly. “Jesus, Ryan, you finally nab Ray after like a year of mooning over him and here you go fucking someone else. You were defending him like he was your bitten Omega the other day!”

 

“What we do is none of your business,” Ryan replied evenly. His voice held a steady, eerie calm as his chest tingled and blood started to rush a little harder.

 

“Fuck you it's not my business,” the older Alpha shot back. “Gavin's my business.”

 

Ryan stood up and the older Alpha went rigid, controller dropping away as he met his friend’s heated stare. He could feel the grip on his control slipping and the hurt look that had passed Dan’s face at the words only helped thread it. “You’re a piece of work, Geoff. You have no room to say anything. You played with Gavin so long he nearly broke. You had _no_ idea what you were doing.”

 

“Ryan,” Michael warned.

 

Geoff laid a hand on his mate’s thigh, the gesture quieting the normally loud boy. “Now it sounds like you have something to say, Haywood.”

 

Ryan’s nostrils flared and he felt the heat of indignance work up into his cheeks. Geoff’s refusal to stand and meet him, the use of his last name, it felt like an insult. His Alpha instincts were growling, demanding he snap his teeth and take the respect he deserved. The dizzying rush of emotion loosened his tongue and strengthened his resolve, words bubbling up like bitter bile. “I think you’re jealous.”

 

Geoff snorted but there was no humor there.

 

“You’re jealous that I had the balls to ask for what I wanted and that I have the communication skills you sorely lack,” Ryan continued despite the growing tension in the room. The smirk that tugged at the corners of his mouth felt cold and he could feel a small part of him wanting to stop, to apologize and take the words back, but it was too late. “You’re bitter about all this because I didn’t suffer like you did, like I didn’t earn it. I didn’t almost lose everything you did.”

 

“Ryan,” Geoff bit out like a threat.

 

For the first time in a while, Ryan let his Alpha side control his tongue. “ _I_ manned up and accomplished in one night what you dragged your ass on for nearly a year.”

 

Geoff surged to his feet and shoved Ryan hard enough to knock him back a bit, socked feet staggering across the carpet. A sharp snarl cut through the room and it was a shock to see Dan get up and put himself between the two Alphas, canines bared at Geoff while his dark eyes smoldered with menace. The young Alpha’s shoulders were hunched and he had a hand out as if to further block Ryan from the other, high flags of color blooming on his cheeks from the adrenaline rush. To a younger Alpha, it would've been an intimidating display. The Pack Alpha wasn't amused.

 

“Cute,” Geoff huffed with a scowl.

 

“Don't even fucking think about it,” Dan growled out, accent thickening as his gaze flicked to the man's balled fists.

 

“ _You_ don't even think about it!” Michael yapped, tiny Omega fangs flashing as he pushed his way in front of his Alpha and got in Dan's face. The two stood toe-to-toe, old blood bubbling up. The scar on Dan's arm seemed to burn as a reminder and the look in Michael's eyes was familiar. The Lad was as fierce as any Alpha as he tilted his head up and grit his teeth. “Get out of my Alpha's face.”

 

Dan's lip curled back. “Only if he gets out of _mine_.”

 

“I wasn't going to say a damn thing about all this, Gruchy, but if you keep pushing it this is going to be a problem.”

 

“What is that supposed to mean?” the soldier snuffed.

 

Michael took the last step closer and they almost touched. He jabbed a finger in Dan's chest with an ugly sneer. “Quit trying to break up my best friend's relationship. Ray's loved Ryan way before you fucking showed up and got a stupid knot-crush on Ryan because he showed you some attention! They don't _need_ you.”

  
He hit a sore spot and something dark flickered in Dan's eyes. “Watch yourself, _Omega_. I'll thrash you right here in front of your Alpha.”

 

“I already bit the shit out of you once, you fucking ungrateful little-!”

 

“Hey, whoa!” Michael's words cut out as heard his friend's outburst. Ray (who had sensed the fight about to break out) ran out of the kitchen and yelled 'parkour' as he made a leap over the couch with as much grace as he'd ever showed before. He put a hand on each of his friends' chests and pushed them back, making sure to wiggle between them to try and create some distance. Gavin followed and circled around the couch to get behind Geoff. He wrapped an arm around his Alpha's waist and frowned, a soft sound escaping him as he tried to draw him back.

 

“What's up guys?” Ray grinned, voice purposefully cheerful in the face of sneers. “We got a rumble going on? That's not nearly enough pomade or showtunes for that. No half-assing a rumble.”

 

Ryan laid a hand on Dan's shoulder and made him take a step back. The soldier relaxed at the Alpha's touch and went, Ray breathing a little easier at the submission.

 

Michael frowned. “The shit he said about you guys-”

 

“I heard,” Ray cut him of, smile fading. “And it's really not a problem.”

 

“Your progressive boyfriend was talking about you guys like you're prizes at a fucking fair,” Michael exclaimed with obvious disgust, glaring over the Lad's shoulder at Ryan. “And you're cool with that shit?”

 

Ryan's lips pursed. “I didn't mean it like that and you know it. I've _never_ thought of Omegas like that.”

  
A bubble of rage popped in Michael's throat and he spouted without thinking, “Apparently they're not good enough to stay loyal too.”

 

The same kind of anger burned across Ryan's tongue and he spat back, “Look who's talking. You had a mate and you couldn't keep your hands off Gavin. If Geoff hadn't agreed to it, you probably would've slept with him anyway.”

 

Geoff's growl sent Ray into a defensive stance and he backed up into Dan, who's hands came up to cradle his arms. The Omega shook off the urge to bare his neck and stood his ground. Ryan closed his mouth and Gavin squeezed closer to his mate, a low chitter diffusing the tension in the man's body.

  
Ray steeled himself. “Michael, seriously, it's really none of your business. We're grown-ass dudes and we're not hurting anyone. I _really_ appreciate you guys looking out for me – but fucking drop it.”

 

The room filled with the sounds of their breathing and the music of the game. Geoff slowly reached out and put a hand on Michael's shoulder, drawing him away from Ray. There was a sharp bitterness churning in their chests to the point where they could almost taste it. Ryan mimicked the gesture with both Dan and Ray, not quite challenging the Pack Alpha but not giving into him either.

 

“I think we should leave,” Ryan stated, trying to remain neutral.

 

“Guys,” Gavin whined.

 

Michael's hands balled into fists. “Yeah, I think you should.”

 

When Geoff didn't say anything, the other three got their stuff together without another word and left.

 

o0o

 

The car ride back to Ryan's house was silent. Ray had plugged his headphones in and Dan had sunk down into his jacket, eyes never straying from his shoes. When they got back, Ray dropped into the couch and slumped against the arm of it. Ryan turned on the TV and slid him the remote before he went to the kitchen to get something to drink. Dan debated sitting next to the Omega, maybe cuddling into his lap, but the solemn expression on the boy's face had him retreating to the nearby armchair. He idly watched the zombie flick that Ray had put on and tried not to think about the night they'd shared here in the living room, the best not-sex he'd ever had along with the most restful sleep in their cushioned nest. He rubbed a thumb over the bruise on his throat and occasionally glanced at Ray's.

 

Ryan came back and sat a Coke beside his mate but he didn't move to take it. The older Alpha sat on the other side of the couch and tried to relax and let the leftover adrenaline bleed out of his system. Condensation built up on Ray's Coke but he didn't look away from the screen, arms crossed and knees drawn up to make himself small but nothing on his face. Dan tried to make conversation, joking about the unbelieveability of the zombies, but the words died in the air.

 

It started out small, joke a choke that could've been a cough. Ray curled up tighter on himself and his shoulders shook, lip caught in his teeth as his eyes crinkled up. He tried so hard to swallow it back but the next sound was a clear sob. He buried his head behind his knees and dug his fingers into his shins, tears dripping into the denim.

 

Dan was on his knees and in front of him in moments, making wordless noises while his hands fluttered uselessly around the boy.

 

“Dan,” Ryan called gently, getting the soldier's attention. “Can we talk in private for a minute?”

 

Dan swallowed thickly and nodded. “I-I'll just go lay down for a bit.”

 

The Brit retreated to the bedroom and shut the door, leaving the couple alone. Ryan scooted over and eased Ray out of his tight furl to urge him up into his lap. Ray went eagerly, straddling his hips and wrapping his arms around his neck. He buried his head in boyfriend's throat and clung tight, tongue clumsy as he tried to speak so badly he ended up aborting his sentences in nervous stutters. Ryan hushed him lovingly and scratched through his hair, an arm curling along his lower back and keeping him firmly in his lap. His heart ached to see Ray like this. All the confidence and stretch he'd gained from presenting seemed to shatter under the uncertainty their friends had pressed to surface.

 

“Why?” Ray finally coughed out. “What's wrong with what we're doing? Why are they angry?”

 

The simplistic questions didn't begin to cover what had happened at Geoff's house but it hit the core. He thought about his words very carefully before he spoke. “They're not angry at you, Ray. They're upset because we're their friends. They love us.”

 

Ray clenched his eyes shut and tried to keep more tears from leaking. “Bullshit.”

 

“They do,” Ryan promised as he slipped his hand up the boy's shirt and let it fan out across his bare back. The skin-to-skin contact made them both sigh. “They've seen us come together really gradually and now that we're together they don't want anything to mess it up. Including us.”

 

“But we're not.” He tried not to whine but it slipped into his words.

 

“How are they going to know that if we don't talk to them?” Ryan tried to make light of the situation but it fell flat. “We hid this from them and Geoff figured it out. We knew this would happen. We knew they might not be completely accepting at first.” He turned his head and kissed the boy's cheek. “They think I'm trying to step out on you, and with Gavin's best friend at that. And Michael...apparently Michael thinks that having Dan around like this will put a wedge between us.”

 

“We agreed on it!” Ray lamented, fists balled in his Alpha's shirt as he sat back to look him in the eyes. “Right? We talked about it a-” His breath hitched on a leftover sob. “And everything. We're being good about this, aren't we?”

 

“Of course we are,” Ryan gentled, wiping away the tears that spilled. “We both care about him, don't we?” Ray nodded. “If we both have those kinds of feelings for him, and we both agree, it's the best thing to explore those feelings to see how deep they go. Wanting to kiss Dan doesn't make you love me any less. And playing Alpha with him doesn't make you any less my Omega. Just because we like him with us, and take him to bed, doesn't mean there's any less _us_ in this relationship.”

 

Ray chewed on the words for a few minutes and indulged in his Alpha's nice touches. He sunk into his chest and let those broad palms pet all along his back and sides. Another sob bubbled up and Ryan simply laid a hand on the back of his neck, grounding him. It was like a shot of instant gratification. Ray's eyes fell shut and he melted into his boyfriend, a purr building up under his lungs. He hardly ever made the new sound and it wasn't very loud but it could be felt through receptive fingertips.

 

“Everyone was a little heated,” Ryan whispered, keeping his pitch low not to break the spell he'd woven over his Omega. “We all have a lot of apologies to make before work on Monday. We'll take the rest of the day to ourselves and we can offer to go over there for lunch tomorrow, offer a white flag.”

 

“Need to tell Geoff you're sorry,” Ray slurred into his throat.

  
“I know I do,” Ryan admitted. “Michael too. We all said some things we shouldn't have.” He used the grip on the boy's nap to bring him up for a slight kiss. “But that's tomorrow. Right now I think it's time to get some water and go to bed.”

 

Ray could hardly open his eyes but he nodded. “I wanna' cuddle with Dan. Michael was a dick to him.”

 

His little mate truly was gone, drunk on his scent and his thorough touches.

 

“He needs you.”

 

Ryan startled at the firm words, and when he looked up from admiring Ray's mark he saw those dark eyes locked on his own. There was a serious tension around the Lad's eyes and he knew he meant it.

 

“I'm not going anywhere.”

 

“Even when he comes back?” Ray needled.

 

Ryan was surprised by his Omega's sharpness but he didn't let it prick him. “Of course.”

 

“Good,” Ray deflated against his boyfriend and pressed his forehead into his shoulder. “Carry me.”

 

o0o

 

Geoff didn't hesitate to let them come back over for lunch leftovers the next day. When they arrived Michael seemed to be pouting on the couch but Gavin had been plastered against his side, scenting his throat, and by the flush on their cheeks they were as calm as they could be. Geoff had the same casual blush and he looked his usual, sleepy self.

 

When Ryan came through the door the first thing he did was duck his head into his boss's neck and breathe _I'm sorry_ against his scent gland. Geoff had huffed out a laugh and carded tattooed fingers through fine, blonde hair. “It's okay, Rye.”

 

The way Geoff pecked intimate kisses on the younger Alpha's cheek and rubbed the nape of his neck made the younger boys' hearts skip. It was a nice sight and hard to look away from.

 

“Unless you guys are gonna' bang, quit hogging the Pack Alpha,” Ray teased as he hip-bumped his boyfriend out of the way and wrapped his arms around Geoffs's shoulders, butting his head up under his chin. Geoff laughed and hugged him close with one arm, the other fiddling with the hair along the back of his head. Vanilla mixed with citrus and Ryan's leftover warmth made them hum, the Alpha's nose rooting into soft hair to find more of that scent.

 

“X-Ray,” Gavin sing-songed as he made grabby hands at them.

 

When Ray stepped away his pupils were a little blown and his grin was dopey.

 

“Scent drunk already,” Ryan teased.

 

“A little,” Ray confessed before he pressed a sloppy kiss to his boyfriend's mouth. He passed by them and fell into the couch with his Lads. Michael cracked a smile and they swarmed on each other, hands curving thighs and curious mouths relearning the map of scent glands. Ray flushed up and he had to take his hoodie off before he let himself curl back up with them. Ryan stared in open admiration as the Lads brushed noses and cheeks, mouths coming in only hairsbreadth of each other like they longed to kiss.

 

Dan cautiously stepped up to Geoff and cleared his throat, the man's attention stolen from his mates with their best friend. “Uh, Geoff, listen...I talked a bit with Ryan, and I had a lot of time to think last night. You love Gav just as much as I do and you're just looking out for him. I mean, bloody hell, he thought I was doing this to get back at him or some shite because he was all crazy about you while we were together.”

 

Geoff shook his head, hands hooked in his back pockets. “Listen, kid – _Dan –_ it's not just that. This is my pack we're talking about.”

 

His heart fell like a stone into the pit of his stomach. When he swallowed it was like sandpaper. “I understand.”

 

“I want you all happy and content _with_ each other, in and out of relationships. I know we're kind of inbreeding here, but if someone got cheated on...I just couldn't stand to see you guys break each other's hearts.”

 

Dan visibly perked up at the word choice. “All of us? You...you mean me too, Geoff?”

 

“Duh,” Geoff's voice cracked, hand fanning out to indicate the room. “We're _all_ pack here. You're my boys. And if you're going to crawl all over each other, I just want it to be because you guys fucking love each other, alright? I know I overreacted. I thought you were trying to take Ryan or something, I don't know. It's stupid, okay? Just come here.”

 

Dan eagerly launched himself into the Alpha's arms and accidentally knocked them both into the wall. Ryan froze, hoping desperately that Geoff didn't take it as a sign of aggression. But their boss merely laughed and made low, calming noises in the back of his throat as Dan trickled out apologies. They stood there scenting long enough that the Lads took notice. When they finally pulled apart, Geoff surprised them all and leaned in to peck a kiss on his slack mouth. It was brief and Ray felt a small Omega growl build in his chest but Gavin hushed him with a thumb over his lips.

 

Michael got up off the couch, wobbling as he tried to get his bearings, and then walked over with a sour look.

 

“Don't be like that, baby boy,” Geoff rumbled, curling an arm around the boy's hips and presenting him to Dan. “You two need to make up – for _good_ this time.”

 

Dan's lungs were still clogged with the Pack Alpha's scent and he wanted to obey. He tried to back up but Ryan came around and took him gently by the arm, urging him toward the Lad. “Come on, now, Dan, he's not going anywhere.”

 

“I didn't pull his damn pigtails,” Dan groused.

 

“No, you pulled each others,” Geoff tisked, hand firm on the boy's lower back as he forced him forward. “Now say you're sorry.”

 

Dan looked at Michael and for a moment it was pure electricity but the smell of their Alphas and the touch of their hands softened it up. Michael tried to speak first but it fizzled out into a sigh. All eyes were on them as they both fumbled for something to say.

 

Dan stopped chewing the inside of his cheek and swallowed his pride. “Michael?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“I'm sorry.”

 

The Lad's shoulders sagged. “Me too, man. I'm so fucking tired of fighting.”

 

“Then why do you do it, you tiny fucking idiot?” Dan griped as he snagged the boy's wrist and yanked him into a powerful bear hug. Relief flooded them both as they clung to each other tiny laughs bubbled out of them. Michael returned the favor and grabbed the soldier's wrist to drag him over to the couch with the Lads. They welcomed him gratefully.

 

Geoff stood with Ryan and watched the boys settle in, Dan sandwiched between his fellow Brit and Ray while Michael draped himself over Gavin protectively. The four grinned at each other and noses found throats, scents mixing more heavily as they finally relaxed.

 

“We shouldn't have kept it a secret,” Ryan admitted quietly, still shoulder-to-shoulder with his boss. “It's still an unsure thing.”

 

“You were right.”

 

Ryan's brow pinched up. “Geoff?”

 

“I should've handled my boys better than I did.” The older Alpha scratched through his messy, dark hair. “I shoud've sat them down and talked to them before it ever got as far as it did. It was unfair to all of us and I got so stupid mad when I thought you guys were doing the same thing. I wish I could have handled it like this but – I don't know, I was a scared old man who could've lost his best friends and his mate all at once.”

 

The bitter smile on Geoff's face made the younger Alpha snuff. He pressed up against Geoff's back and wrapped his arms around him, cheek resting on his shoulder and blonde tresses tickling the beard on his cheek. “There's nothing wrong with being scared. You're the best Alpha.”

 

The man's arms tightened around him and Geoff wondered if this was the nice treatment Ray got every day. He gratefully leaned into it and watched the boys kick off their shoes to curl up tighter on the couch. “Let's take the other couch. Chicken should be done in thirty minutes.”

 

“Plenty of time to snuggle, Grandpa.”

 

Ryan grunted when he got a playful punch in the shoulder. “Oof, not so hard. I'm not that spry either.”

 

o0o0o0o

 

Life went along much more smoothly after that. After Jack got wind of what happened, he made sure to scent with all of them individually and get some time with them. Even Dan. The soldier had refused at first but one whiff of all that clean cotton and essence of _sleep_ and _calm_ and he was gone, lost in the Beta's lap and purring like a damn Alpha kitten. Ray had nearly gotten jealous but his boyfriend had swooped him up and taken him off to get some Mexican instead of interrupting 'pack time'. There was a new level of camaraderie with the weird tension gone and the office let out a huge breath of relief.

 

Geoff's biggest fear was put to rest when Gavin and Ray grew closer because of this new development instead of further apart. Ray didn't offer any details and Gavin didn't ask, though Michael was caught a couple of times trying to nag sexy stories out of their youngest Lad.

 

Dan seemed to be taking it all in stride and Ryan was glad to see him falling into his role as youngest Alpha quite well. Geoff had only tested the new bond a few times, asking the kid to fetch him stupid stuff, but eventually he felt satisfied and let him be. Dan still kept his ears open for commands from his fellow Alphas but he seemed somehow more confidant around the office.

 

It came to a head about two weeks before Dan had to head back out.

 

Michael had driven Ray to his own apartment and from the blip on the Xbox the Omega was immersed in some deep gaming. That left Ryan left alone with their British Alpha and the two had spend the evening relaxing, one reading and the other catching up on emails and some YouTube watching. They had eventually headed off together to bed. Dan had dared to strip off his shirt and after being analyzed by appreciative eyes he crawled in among the sheets that smelled so strongly of his friend.

 

Truly tired, Ryan had snuggled up behind him as the big spoon and let himself enjoy the warm, salty-sweet smell of the soldier. He was halfway asleep when he realized Dan was like a livewire against him, skin all but vibrating as he tried his best not to squirm. Ryan yawned and blinked hard to force himself to wake up a little before he kissed his friend's neck, shushing his nervous form.

 

“I don't want to leave.”

 

“It'll be alright, Dan,” Ryan promised easily, palm rubbing over the firm muscle of the soldier's stomach. “It's only for a little while longer and then you'll be back here with us, safe and sound.”

 

The muscle under his hand jumped and he felt a bolt of worry. “You're strong, and fast, and you're mostly out of combat while you're over there, right? You'll beat any odds against you.”

 

“What if I don't?” Dan's voice was barely more than a husk, face half-buried in the blankets. “What if I get nicked or worse...what if I have to leave Gavin and Ray and this _pack_.”

 

Ryan sat up on his elbow and rubbed the boy harder, trying to keep him physically grounded. “You won't ever have to leave us. Nothing's going to happen to you out there. I have to believe...” He raked his teeth over his lower lip nervously, the words cliché even as they were forming in his throat. “That whatever kind of fate or power brought us all together like this wouldn't take you away now that we've just started to figure it all out.”

 

Dan felt something come loose in his chest and he broke down, whimpering. “ _Alpha_.”

 

Ryan turned the boy's head and kissed him soundly, instincts surfacing at the enticing call. He let Dan draw strength from his lips and he held him close, the title ringing between his ears over and over. To have such a strong, fertile Alpha begging for his comfort was amazing for his ego and it made his heart fuzzy under all the concern for Dan's well being.

 

“If I said I really wanted Ray here, would you be mad at me?” Dan asked, their lips brushing with each word. “

 

“Of course not,” Ryan promised with one last peck. He reached behind him and snatched his phone. “Be good for me.”

 

Ryan sat up and laid his hand on Dan's throat, arching his head back to bare the stubbled flesh and the bobbing Adam's apple. “Stay.” The soldier obeyed and his neck was released after a warm caress with a heavy thumb. His wrist was taken and twisted carefully up behind him, chest thrust out like it was on display. Dan's cheeks colored up as he was arched enticingly, wetting his lips in anticipation when the phone's camera loomed over him. Two pictures from different angles were taken, one with Dan's upturned face and one without to send to Ray. The tempting flex of muscle and the long line of his fit form, the soft skin begging for a mark – even without his wanton expression, it was beautiful. He sent it to his Omega and and then rolled the soldier onto his back, straddling him in one smooth movement. Their kiss came with more fever now and Dan bit at his lips, making them redden and swell. He returned the favor three fold.

 

They were both panting by the time they pulled away. Dan grinned full force, canines catching the side of his lip. “Do you think I can get you off before he – oh.”

 

The phone buzzed before he finished. Ryan moved over to lean on his elbow to pick the device up and unlock it. “It says, and I quote, 'Either get the fuck over here or come get me you assholes.' ”

 

“Let's make him wait ten minutes,” Dan suggested as he slotted their hips together, a hand slapping down on the older Alpha's meaty thigh. “What do you say?”

 

“Ten minutes?” Ryan smirked. “Try twenty.”

 

o0o0o0o

 

Ray took Ryan and Dan on his stream, much to the enjoyment of the fans, and they made videos all together. They were a string of lame vids that surprisingly got a lot of views from the sponsors. They would put on the camera and just horse around, sometimes with sunglasses and stupid accidents and once a paper Burger King crown, but always with their humor.

 

Gavin and Dan shot slow-mo vids as well, putting a few away to throw up on the regular while he was gone. Michael and Ray took turns filming and it was much more fun than just having the two of them.

 

But the fun could only last so long. Dan's leave started winding up. Everyone could feel it and they started to get clingy, fighting as subtly as they could for his time.

 

The night before he was to leave, it was Ryan's bed he fell into. They ended up laying in the mess of sheets still fully dressed, facing each other while fingertips roamed strong jaws and the tired heave of ribs. Each ridge was counted with breathless resignation and eyes met shyly with tiny smiles.

 

“I leave tomorrow.”

 

Ryan fiddled with the hem of his shirt. “I know.”

 

“I'm going to say goodbye to everyone.”

 

“Half the office is going,” Ryan teased lightly. “They're going to miss the hell out of you.”

 

“I don't want to say goodbye to you in front of them,” Dan admitted quietly. “So let's just do it now and end it on a good note where I get to sleep beside you all night.”

 

“Or,” Ryan proposed, drawing out the word as he scooted closer and let his fingers splay along the younger Alpha's lower back, “We could _not_ at all. We could just enjoy tonight and tomorrow we'll shake hands and you'll kiss Ray and we'll see each other when you come back. We'll pick right back up where we left off. If we're still there, I mean.”

 

“No goodbyes,” Dan repeated. “Sounds good to me.”

 

“Kiss me, you _fool_!” Ryan exclaimed before he tried to mash a kiss on his mouth. Dan was laughing too hard and had to push him away, the hearty sound wrapping around them. They grinned and bumped foreheads, scents mixing so completely that even Ryan couldn't pick through to find their individual notes. It was easy to bury together in the dim room, Dan's head bumped up under the older man's chin so he could nose into the dip of his collarbones. He was cradled close by those strong hands and it was comforting enough to bring out a quiet, rough purr from the soldier.

 

“Ryan...”

 

“I know.”

 

o0o0o0o

 

The airport was crowded but it was the flight Dan needed to keep his schedule. He'd have another week with his family before he headed back for the rest of his tour. He'd dressed in the fatigues he'd come in, all pressed and neat from Geoff's own hand, and Lindsay had said twice how nice he looked in them. All his friends in the AH office and the RWBY team all showed up, Kerry and Blaine turning up at the last minute. Dan had never felt so loved in his life as he went around and gave everyone a last hug, murmuring goodbyes and grazing cheeks to leave lingering trails of scent. He double checked cell phone numbers, Skype names and emails written down on slips of paper and put into his pockets (Barb put a lipstick kiss on hers and he thought his cheeks were going to catch fire.). Blaine back-slapped him so hard he was sure he would bruise.

 

Monty tapped his Skype name into an email and made sure Dan got it on his phone before he shook the soldier's hand. Dan hesitated at the man's stern look and the way he wouldn't let go of his hand. “Voice acting.”

 

The two words made him grin and he nodded. “When I get back, I'll do my best.”

 

Monty looked at him for a moment longer before a small, calm smile curved his lips and he nodded. “Good.”

 

Then he got to the small group of Achievement Hunters, his small group of great friends. The office was all one big, loose pack but this was his immediate pack. His Pack Alpha, his Lads, his Beta, and his Alpha. His B. A swell of affection threatened to burst his heart as he came up to Jack, the man's smile sad but beaming like a damn ray of sunshine.

 

“Come here, brat,” Jack gruffed as he pulled him into a hug. Dan took great, greedy breath of that clean scent. He was tempted to ask the Beta to let him come back and re-scent before he left but he wanted a little bit of everybody on his clothes, even if it hurt his heart a little to know he would hundreds of miles away soon. “Caiti's sorry she couldn't come.”

 

“Tell her again that her cooking was amazing and when I come back, the first stop is her dinner table.” Dan pulled back with a wink. “Just don't tell Geoff.”

 

“I can hear you, asshole,” Geoff gruffed.

 

Dan got pulled into his arms next and chuffed as he was scented very obviously, the Pack Alpha leaving red scratches from his beard all over his throat and cheeks. He got a peck on one cheek and a small smack on the other. “Be good.”

 

“I will, Geoff.”

 

One step and he was in front of Michael. He was bundled in a hoodie and a beanie, much like the Omega boy he'd met all that time ago. Though he looked young there was something in his yes. Michael had two mates and was growing into the thick of his twenties. There was a strength to his shoulders and a sharpness to his cheeks, a mature gleam hiding in his eyes. A hand came out and Dan met it firmly. He was surprisingly urged into a bro-hug that last a few beats too long.

 

“Come back.”

 

“Don't worry, Michael, I will.”

 

When they parted, it was with matching smiles.

 

“Me next?” Ryan teased when Dan passed him. The Alpha looked bookish with his glasses and Dan got all fluttery just looking at him. He'd trimmed up his beard and he was wearing that long-sleeved blue shirt the fans loved, sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He'd seen Ryan shirtless and growling, muscles flexing dangerously and bangs in his eyes, canines bared and eyes dark. Strangely, _this_ was the sexiest he'd ever seen the man.

 

He ignored the heart flutters and took a calming breath. “No goodbyes.”

 

“No goodbyes,” the older Alpha echoed.

 

Dan shook his head with one smooth movement and he left his friend there, blue eyes following him as he walked over to where the last two were standing off from the others.

 

“Well, Lads, this is it,” Dan declared. He dropped his duffle on the ground and opened his arms. “Who's first?”

 

“This is fucking bullshit,” Ray groused as he threw himself into the hug, face burying in the rough jacket. “I don't want you to go. I don't care if it's selfish, this army thing is crap.”

 

“It's important,” Dan corrected gently as he squeezed the Omega. “To me and a lot of other people.”

 

Ray sighed hard before he muttered out, “I know.”

 

“You sound like I did when he enlisted,” Gavin chuckled, a sadness creeping up into his voice. He watched his two friends scent, Dan's cheek rubbing into Ray's hair while the Omega threatened to chew at his scent gland. The kiss they shared was chaste but the intimate, familiar slide of their lips made Gavin's stomach grow fuzzy. He wasn't sure if it was a good or bad thing, but he could live with it.

 

Gavin welcomed Dan when his friend stepped away from Ray and into his arms. Every time he squeezed his B in a hug like this it was like getting spoon-fed nostalgia. The warm, active beach smell and the familiar swells of his muscles, the particular strength of his hugs, the flash of Alpha canines in his grin before they collided. Gavin kissed the other's throat and tucked his nose behind his ear, simply breathing him in.

 

“I'm going to miss you so much,” Gavin confessed.

 

“God, B, you have no idea how much I want to stay,” Dan promised. “But I'll be back before you know it, okay? It's barely a year.”

 

“Skype me when you can,” Gavin made him promise, palms flat on the Alpha's chest when they finally managed to get away. “Text. Anything. Try not to disappear for more than a few days, you cheeky git. You scared the pants off me last time.”

 

Dan nodded quickly but his chest was tight. “I'll do my best.”

 

They muttered nonsense to each other and eventually Gavin dissolved into mindless chitters as he tried to memorize his best friend's smell well enough to last him for another year. The time they'd had together had been precious and borrowed. Dan had earned it for them all and it had been amazing, but it was over.

 

This wasn't the end, not by a long shot.

 

“Just go already,” Ray tried to joke, hands deep in the pockets of his jacket.

 

“Or what?” Dan shot back, turning and flashing him a grin.

 

“Or we won't let you.”

 

“Fair enough.” He gave a wink and picked up his bag. All his friends were beaming at him, a tinge of sadness in it all but nothing less than adoring. He gave them a final wave and forced himself to turn his back. It had a note of finality to it that didn't sit well in his belly. He started toward the baggage check, each footstep heavier than the last, but there was something wrong. With each movement he could smell Jack, Geoff, his B, Ray, and all the others from the office. One important scent was missing. He could taste Ray on is lips, bitter Monster and Omega sweetness, but it wasn't all of it.

 

 _Ryan_ . His heart panged, steps faltering. _Alpha._

 

“Sod it all,” Dan cursed, whipping around on his heels. He went back toward them in heavy strides, eyes locked on one surprised Alpha. Halfway there Dan dropped his duffle and started running, closing the distance in heart-clenching seconds. Ryan took the last few steps, glasses sliding up into his hair and out of the way.

 

They collided – two Alphas with greedy hands and hungry lips, Ryan swooping up Dan as he launched himself at him. The soldier practically clawed at his face as he devoured his mouth, world tightening down to the man's hearth scent and the rasp of his beard. There was a flurry of surprise from their group of friends and some disgusted looks from passersby but the two Alphas didn't care. Michael snapped a picture on his phone and Lindsay was muffling a squeal behind her hand.

 

They broke apart with a wet sound but they didn't go far, noses brushing and foreheads touching. They breathed in each other's air and their fingers twisted in hard to shirts.

 

“I don't want to go,” Dan confessed, sounding just as desperate as he did those few nights ago. “Don't make me.”

 

“You have to.” Ryan tried not to let a snarl creep into his words but it was hard with his instincts so close to the surface, emotions scraped raw. He raked his hand through the boy's hair and screamed at himself to remember how it felt between his fingers. He didn't know Dan was doing the exact same thing, hands mapping his shoulders and running over his chest. It felt far too intimate for public but it felt too good to stop.

 

Dan chewed his lower lip, chasing what the other Alpha had left behind. “I...just couldn't leave without saying goodbye. Most rubbish shit I ever tried to pull with that.”

 

“You were trying to make it easier on both of us.” Ryan took his hands and pressed another kiss to his lips before stepping back. “It'll be okay.”

 

“Promise?” Dan rasped.

  
Ryan cupped each side of his jaw and they looked at each other, sky meeting earth in color. “I promise. Now get on that plane because you're actually late now.”

 

The weak attempt at humor made them both laugh rather frailly.

 

Ray's heart ached as he watched the two Alphas slowly peel away from each other, quiet _goodbyes_ passing between them. Arms stretched and fingers stayed laced until the last possible second, slow steps prying them away, digits trailing ticklishly before they separated. It was like watching someone pull off a band-aid.

 

Ray blinked away a faint scratch of tears and Gavin ut a hand on his friend's shoulder. They shared a bittersweet smile and watched as Dan walked away for real this time, the soldier sweeping up his bag with one last look back. The group waved at him and he beamed, eyes shining as well.

 

Geoff threw his arm around Michael with a dopey grin. It took a moment for the Lad's quiet expression to crack but when it did it was like the sun breaking through the clouds, relief and dampened happiness making the dimples pop in his cheeks.

 

“So,” Michael started, breaking the quiet in their group. “Dan the Man is a great dude.”

 

“Yeah he is,” Geoff drawled.

 

Kerry gave a snort and shoved his hands in his pockets. “Jeez, why don't _you two_ fuck him?”

 

Gavin jumped over and popped him playfully in the shoulder, the Beta hissing at the jab. “Because they've got me, ya' dope.”

 

While a few jokes passed between the heavy-hearted group, Ray walked up behind Ryan. He put his head on his boyfriend's shoulder and laced their fingers together. “You okay?”

 

“I'm fine,” Ryan sighed as he slipped his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose. “I'm going to miss him more than I thought I would.”

 

“Me too, Rye.”

 

o0o0o0o

 

Dan wasn't lucky enough for his plane to be a one-way to England but there was a touch down in one of the outer states on the way out. It was a few hours but Dan still got out to stretch his legs and indulge in the free wifi. He went out into the lobby, got a bottle of Coke with a small smile and the thought of the Omega he'd left behind in Texas, and plopped down in a squishy seat. He pulled out his phone, checked his email, and then flipped open his Twitter app.

 

Dan smiled happily when he saw all the warm wishes from fans and friends alike, their desire for him to return home safely written over and over again in a long virtual wall. He thumbed through them until he hit a picture and paused. It was Ryan's living room – their nest. At first he thought it was recreated, that his friends had decided to bundle up in the living room, but the twin dark heads that peaked out of the mounds of blankets showed it had been taken the morning after night together.

 

It was from Ryan's twitter account. _The house just got a little emptier._

 

Just above it he could see Ray's reply. _I miss him already #inthebutt_

 

Dan burst out into hysterical laughter. He slapped a hand over his mouth so not to freak out everyone around him but the glisten to his eyes gave away his mirth, and his faint heartache.

 

“When I get back...” Dan murmured as he pressed the edge of his phone to his forehead, eyes closed tight. “Oh, you guys are going to get it.”

 

 

 

 

 

 


	72. Geoff, Michael, and Gavin X

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We all know Gavin has a shit gag reflex. Well, it's time to start fixing that, right?

***blows kisses at you all***   
  
**Your comments are the best even if I can't sort through them properly because I'm a dumb and I love you guys <3**

 

* * *

 

 

Deciding to move in together had been a big decision for all of them, but for Michael it was like taking out a second job. He had to have two sit-down talks with his landlord to get out of his lease early without paying a hefty fine. Doing it online would've cost him a shit ton of late notice fees so he went to all the places his utilities were based out of and put on the charm to get them canceled. Then came sorting through all the junk he'd collected since he'd moved in. Barb and Kerry came by to help him sort through his stuff, dividing it all up into piles of Keep/Storage/Toss. The things he couldn't bare to part with or risk in a unit he put into boxes with his name scribbled across it and they got put into Gavin's old room.

 

It was surprisingly easy to say goodbye to the apartment once it was stripped of all his things. Geoff and Gavin had stood with him that night, both holding his hands in the doorway as he gave one last goodbye. It was a heavy moment but the tickly, mustache kisses his Alpha had pressed to his cheek had helped lighten it up. When they left it behind, all Michael could think of was how he was going to spread his stuff all through the house. It took a few days for the scents to settle and the hoodies to mix, for Red Bull to sit next to the beer and the protein powder to get surrounded by Geoff's spices. Socks became indistinguishable and more soap snuck into the bathroom, more heat-friendly products getting bought and put under the sink for emergencies. The amount of heat suppressants doubled in the mirror cabinet, vitamins popping up as well as another permanent toothbrush. Purple towels mixed in with grey ones. Suddenly there was more protein in the house, and when Geoff went shopping he kept in mind the two ravenous mouths he had to feed.

 

They talked in passing about getting a bigger place but it was a vague idea for the future, a warm thing they discussed when the sun had set and the world got quiet. Maybe one day, when they felt more comfortable as mates and were more secure with their assets.

 

With all of this mixing, Geoff sometimes stumbled across new things. He had his dresser kind of organized except for the middle drawer which was immaculate, all the toys he and Michael had acquired lined up nice and neat and in plastic bags. All the different lubes were at the front, rolled together so all the labels were facing up. Everything from cock rings to cages, buttplugs, and even a play collar or two on the nights when Michael felt particularly kinky. They'd jumped in bed so quick that they'd had almost two years to develop a healthy sex life. His Omega was fiery and they had a fuck ton of fun playing with their dynamics, testing boundaries to see how far they went. Even when Michael got on top and rode him until he whimpered like a little bitch, they always ended the night safe and cleaned up, cuddled close with his boy whispering _Daddy_ into the sheets with such fondness that it nearly broke his heart every time. It was a kink, yeah, but it was starting to become their lifestyle.

 

Geoff loved taking care of Michael, and Michael was reluctant but _craved_ to be taken care of. He could only hope Gavin would fall into that so he could have two boys to spoil.

 

Today he was going through the drawers looking for one of his old band t-shirts. He was getting frustrated and he was ready to start ripping through the laundry room. Not thinking, he yanked open the toy drawer and paused. Normally he would've slammed it shut but there was a new gallon bag stuffed in the corner. He tugged it forward and frowned at the display. It was a series of colored dildos, all with knots at the end. The smallest was slighter than his hand, and it worked up to a size that was nearly as large as his own dick. The knots followed the escalation. Only the last two were worth anything. Purple, blue, orange, red, yellow, green...six in total. They went from ridiculously tiny to a girth that would satisfy Michael.

 

“Michael!” Geoff called over his shoulder.

 

“I don't know where your fucking shirt is, old man.”

 

“Not that,” his voice cracked. “When did you get these colored dicks? It looks like a fucking starter set. Did you forget I've been keeping that cute ass open way too long for you to be as tight as you'd need to take this – fucking, what – four inch thing?”

 

There was a high pitched noise from Gavin before the clatter of a controller, and then thumping bare steps of his Omega. Michael slid into the doorway with a little color in his cheeks. His face got schooled into an expression of nonchalance and he shrugged, playing off his ruffled appearance by leaning against the door. “Those are mine.”

 

“They're yours?” Geoff repeated in disbelief.

 

“Yeah, big whoop, wanna' fight about it?” the Jersey boy drawled.

 

The Alpha stared at him with raised brows but Michael kept his cool, chin raised defiantly and arms crossed over his chest.

 

“Fine,” Geoff gave in after a full minute of trying to break down his boyfriend's bulk. “Wasting money on tiny dicks when you've got two perfectly good ones nearly all the time to play around with. Not to mention all the other good shit we've got in here.” He bumped his hip against the drawer to shut it. “You greedy-ass Omegas.”

 

“Stupid knotheads,” Michael gruffed.

 

Geoff crooked a finger at him but the boy rolled his eyes, turning his head away. He grinned when he saw the way Michael's eyes flicked back to him, dancing over his bare torso, admiring his tats. Geoff gave a little flex and a wink.

 

“Give Daddy some sugar,” he crooned with an exaggerated drawl

 

“You are so gross and old,” Michael snarked even as his shoulders started to slump.

 

When Geoff snagged a finger in his belt loop and dragged him closer, Michael went easily and tilted his head back for a small kiss.

 

o0o0o0o

 

Geoff stayed late with Ryan at work. It was rare he clocked in some extra hours but with the Lads running off before five there was more to do than usual. He threw himself at the unlocked door and stumbled inside, loudly tossing his keys into the glass bowl (that he wasn't exactly sure was meant for metal) and kicked his shoes off so they clunked against the wall. It felt satisfying to make some noise but there was a commotion further in the house that caught his attention. Muffled cursing and drawers, the creek of the bed.

 

“Boys?” Geoff called curiously.

 

Gavin shot out of the hallway and bumped hard into the couch like it was a brake, though his socked feet had a lot of purchase on the dark carpet. The Brit glanced nervously back at the bedroom before he came at him, all grins and open arms. His mouth was swollen and red. Geoff was weak for him immediately and let himself be distracted with sweet kisses, a _welcome home_ muttered against his mouth. Gavin tried to cling too tightly to his sleeve, fingers curling in his hair, but Geoff could taste the tinge of desperation.

 

“What did you break?”

 

Gavin tried to smile it off and stupid excuses came out of his mouth but his Alpha wasn't listening. He walked past him despite his protests. “Come on, Geoff, wait, it's nothing I promise, we were just faffing about.”

  
Geoff threw open the bedroom door and found his other mate quickly shutting the toy drawer, his lips just as puffy and his face ruddy from exertion. There was a washcloth on top of the dresser along with the foam cleaner they had for their toys. Geoff was more than ten years the senior to his boys but he wasn't going senile yet.

 

“So what are you two up to?” Geoff cracked a grin. “Are you fooling around behind Daddy's back?”

 

Michael started toward him and he suddenly wanted to apologize, to say he was teasing and that they were all mates and could do whatever they wanted, but all the worry was wiped away when the boy cupped his cheeks and pulled him into a kiss. It was sudden and claiming, slim tongue darting along his lower lip before pushing inside without permission. Geoff groaned and wrapped an arm around his waist, losing himself in his mate's mouth.

 

In the back of his mind Geoff noted that both Omegas tasted like silicone and that was strange but he didn't care.

 

o0o0o0o

 

Waking up, for Michael, was always thick. His mouth was coated in gross morning breath and his eyes always felt glued together, his mind soaked in heavy dreams and his muscles beyond useless. It wasn't easy to drag him up once he was so far down and nothing besides one of his mate's shaking him or the alarm could usually rouse him.

 

Geoff had learned early on that toying lightly with his hole or plucking at his nipples would slowly wake him up, but a blowjob was a surefire way to make sure Michael started his day off right. A hot, lapping tongue was a familiar and most welcome sensation.

 

Michael groaned softly and rolled his hips, blindly chasing wet suction. He wasn't sure if it was a dream or not and he struggled to stay asleep to indulge in it. But the flex around the head of his cock, the muffled cough, told him he was in the real world. Yawning lightly, Michael settled his hips back down on the bed. The sheets were warm against his cheeks and he realized his boyfriend had managed to get his boxers off without waking him.

 

He cracked an eye open and was thankful for the drawn blinds. The sun was dull but the smothered light made it easy to see. His senses woke up and he could soon feel more than the mouth on his cock. Gavin had settled in for the long haul, it seemed. There was a pillow squished under his narrow hips and he had one elbow braced on the bed, the other arm curled up under Michael's lower back. His eyes were closed, content, and he was giving deep kisses to the head of the other Omega's cock. His lips were wet and sliding in a familiar, slick trail down half the shaft before bobbing back up. Shirtless, half-hard cock covered. He looked comfortable and it made Michael's heart flutter.

 

“S'good, Gav,” Michael slurred. He was already fully hard, his mate's clever tongue more than his sleeping flesh could take. Golden lashes twitched before they revealed those eyes he loved, the color more hazel than green in the light. The Omega whined lightly, unsure, and Michael managed to lift a hand and paw at his ruffled hair. He cleared his throat to get the roughness out of it. “You're doing good. Relax a little, take it slow. Don't swallow yet.”

 

Gavin hummed in agreement and lowered his speed, lips gliding up and down the length trying to get a little farther each time. Michael sighed and tried his best to keep his eyes open but it was hard with the warm waves that were starting to rock through his body.

 

“I know Dan said to concentrate on the head,” Michael muttered, the words straight from his boyfriend's mouth not too long ago. “You can make a guy real happy with it, yeah, but if you want to get them off it's about rhythm and squeezing.”

 

Gavin took the gentle instruction as a command and whined a little before diving down more deeply than before, making it all the way to the base before he gagged hard enough to bring bile up into his throat. He pulled off quickly and rasped, fingers laying over his neck as he swallowed the acid back down. Before he could choke out an apology for ruining a sweet moment, Michael was sitting up and scooting closer, pale legs bracketing him as his mate kissed his cheek. His messy hair was carded through while the other hand slid around to his left side. There was a spot there that when fingers were pressed it with a certain pressure – _oh._ Gavin felt a pleasant veil fall over his mind and he slumped into Michael, the wave of worry dying as quickly as it had come up. It was his only grounding spot unlike Michael who needed to just be held down to reach that Omega sweet spot. The dig of his mate's fingers, the slight bite there just below his arm pit and above his ribs, the press against the fleshy part sent all the right chemicals up into his brain.

 

“We'll keep trying,” Michael promised. “It's not the end.”

 

“What if I don't get it?” Gavin grumbled.

 

“So what? Who gives a shit?” Michael scoffed. He took the Omega's chin to raise his head up so they could look at each other properly. “I had your mouth on my dick. Do you have any idea how hot that is?” Gavin's shy grin was uncharacteristic but the cutest thing he'd ever seen. “Sexy fucking twink.”

 

Gavin squawked as he was grabbed and flipped over onto his back, his mate rolling onto him and pressing close. Sleep-warm skin pressed and damp kisses rained over the Brit's face, lips, and all along his jaw. “Michael!” The name was shrieked as he was assaulted, those fingers trailing up under his arms and over his ribs to tickle him. He squirmed and pushed lightly at him but didn't mean it, laughing and stealing huffs of his mate's fresh soda scent.

 

Michael brushed their noses and shot him a saucy wink, a little breathless. “Hot little fuck.”

 

Gavin grinned and slapped a hand onto the Lad's ass, flesh stinging, a yelp escaping him. “Not so bad yourself, love.”

 

Geoff's voice carried from the kitchen. “Breakfast, assholes!”

 

Michael snickered and sat up, cupping a hand over his mouth. “Assholes for breakfast? What a shit Alpha!”

 

“I will kick the shit out of you!” Geoff grumped back.

 

The Lads shared a laugh and brushed cheeks, scent sticking to skin in a way that would follow them all day. “Let's get in there before he spanks us.”

 

Gavin waggled his eyebrows. “Kinky.”

 

“Jesus Christ, boy, just get up. Where's my underwear?”

 

o0o0o0o

 

Geoff was more careful the next time he came home when he knew the boys were home by themselves. He knew they'd been doing something without him, some kind of _something_ and he was going to get to the bottom of it. He carefully pulled off his shoes and set his bag aside, steps purposefully quiet as he crept toward the hall. There was music playing in the living room and it was kind of loud but he could still make out the light-hearted arguing coming from the bedroom. He followed it, grinning to himself as he thought of all the things they could be doing. He was hoping to catch his boys rubbing cocks or Gavin practicing with that dildo set. He knew sex was a touchy subject when it came to the three of them, that they were working up to really joining. He didn't deny his Omegas the right to play with each other, to search out their likes and preferences without his knot shoved into the mix. But if Gavin was practicing taking knots, little ones at a time, he wanted to be there. He knew that Gavin and Dan had connected like that a few times but he knew (after a little prodding from a very tight-lipped Ryan) that the soldier wasn't packing heavy like the Gents were.

 

Unlike Michael, who practically tricked him into knotting for the first time, he would take his time with Gavin. He made mistakes with his boys, but from now on he was going to do it right.

 

The door was cracked like it was on purpose. Geoff rolled his eyes as he moved back to peer inside. _This is straight out of a porno._ Then he saw the Omegas inside and his eyebrows threatened to shoot up into his hairline. _Shit, right on the money._

 

Michael was stripped down to his boxers but Gavin had kept on a tank that suspiciously looked like one of the Alpha's old ones. There was a towel spread out on the bed with a few of those new toys scattered over it. The two smaller knot-dildos were probably still in the drawer but their brothers were all out to be messed with. The third was shining and put aside, but the fourth was getting some loving treatment. Gavin was bent over the bed, facing him, one hand braced on the mattress while the other was firmly around the base of the fake cock. He was sucking it like it had bought him a damn good dinner. Those long lashes were fanned across his red cheeks. He was sloppy with it but determined, each bob taking him a little further. There was something strangely hot about watching his mate's cheeks hollow around a blue cock that wasn't near his size. It had a damn puppy knot at the end like a teenage Alpha, probably a size smaller than Dan's, but Gavin was slow getting down to it.

 

Then Gavin finally got to the swell of training knot and swallowed once, twice. The boy's face screwed up and he gagged so hard Geoff could see his throat flexing. Gavin pulled off the toy with a noisy sound, saliva dripping from his lips to the fake flesh. He whined and swiped at his mouth with the back of his hand. When he spoke his voice was a husky mess. “Michael, it's too _much_.”

 

Michael huffed in mild frustration but the same shine of lust in Geoff's eyes was glistening in that of his boy's own. He hip-checked Gavin lightly as he moved beside the other Omega, taking the slick toy. “Listen, boy, you've gotta' relax, for Christ's sake. The moment you worry about getting it down, you're fucked.”

 

“Why do I have to hold it down there?” Gavin complained, gesturing the other's hand.

 

“Because this is where a fucking dick would be,” Michael shot back. “Fucking dicks in their natural habitat, alright?”

 

Geoff grinned in pride as his mate took the toy down to the hilt without so much as blinking. It was damn impressive, lips stretching nicely across fake blue flesh before resting at the top of knot. Michael smacked Gavin's shoulder and pointed at himself, the movements impatient and demanding of the Brit's attention. Gavin watched obediently as his mate's jaw went slack and he started to take the knot. It was a gradual slide but the saliva he'd built up in his mouth eased it. His eyes were shining before they fell shut and there was a calm, needy expression twisting his face as he eased down over the knot. His cheeks puffed briefly before he took one, long swallow and his plump lips curled tight at the base.

 

Geoff palmed himself hard at the sight of his mate sighing contently with a full throat. His cock knew that sheath and it was so welcome. Michael was always so good to him and taking his knot was a rare pleasure they'd only tried a handful of times. Each time it ended up in a hefty play session with Michael going so deeply within his own head that all he knew was _Alpha_ and taste of cum. Those nights were always so intimate and by the end of them he'd never felt closer to anyone in the world.

 

Michael hummed around the knot for a little while before stretched his jaw just a little further, tilting his head back at an angle and sliding off with a tiny slurp. He swallowed and cleared his throat before speaking up. “It's all in the jaw. It's going to fill up your mouth and that's not fine. Just let it rest against your cheeks and press down on your tongue. But fucking pay attention, okay?”

 

Gavin nodded quickly.

 

“You _have_ to breathe through your nose,” Michael continued firmly. “No half-assing. His cock is bigger than this thing, okay? And it's got a barbell.”

 

“I'm still worried about that,” Gavin chittered, the nervous flex of his fingers showing just how excited he was to get his mouth on the metal piercing.

 

“Slut,” the other Lad scoffed fondly. “You stop breathing and you'll get fucking choked to death, dumbass.”

 

“Okay, Michael, _okay_ ,” Gavin griped, plopping on the bed beside the toys. “Let me have the bitty one again, okay? I can work up to this one.”

 

“No way, boy, it's only up from here,” Michael teased, toy in hand as he straddled the Brit. He scooted up and sat on his chest with a grin, moving the fake cock to hold it between his legs like a real one. He wiggled the blue shaft and they both laughed. “Come on, let me sit on your face. I want you to try and stay at the knot this time.”

 

 _Fuck me_. Geoff held his breath and slowly backed up down the hall once more. He plopped down on the couch and turned on the TV, cock straining against his jeans. He adjusted himself and squeezed to relieve some pressure but the image of his sweet Omegas with their mouths full just wouldn't go away. He could almost pretend he still heard their wet, smacking lips and light pants. Geoff wanted to go in there and massage Gavin's throat, kiss his ruddy cheeks and rub his shoulders, but this was something the boys were doing on their own and he didn't want to interfere. They would come to him when they were ready.

 

About an hour later his flushed boys came out in similar sweat pants and shirtless, both flushed from their cheeks down to the soft peaks of their nipples. It was an enticing sight but Geoff merely uncrossed his legs and let them fall open, arms draping along the back of the couch. They each took a side and slid a leg over one of his own, inked arms draping casually around them both. Gavin buried his face in his shirt and Michael started peppering his neck with kisses, he could feel through the press of their hips on his sides that they hadn't bothered staying dressed. Geoff hooked a thumb in Michael's sweats and pulled them down to expose the curve of a creamy hip, freckles dusted across his side and down his thigh. His mate tugged them back up and complained against his throat about how he was a pervy old man.

 

Geoff sighed in satisfaction as he brought them in closer, both hands slipping under the bands of their sweats to let inked fingers splay across their thighs, the joint of his thumb hooking on the dips of their hips. The skin was so warm and he sunk into the couch, fingertips pressing to really _feel_ them.

 

“My beautiful boys,” Geoff muttered sleepily, Alpha instincts in complete rest knowing his mates were here beside him and happy.

 

“Sap,” Gavin chuckled into his chest.

 

Michael's fingers walked up his chest and the boy cuddled in closer, mouth brushing over the Alpha's pulse. “You're not so bad yourself, Daddy.”

 

Gavin made an embarrassed little noise and kept his face hidden, breathing in his mate's warm-metal scent. The name struck him strangely in a good way and he rocked his hips against Geoff's side, cock barely more than plump but the friction felt good. The man's hand over his hip, the rub of his fingertips, it all felt so good. His throat was still raw from the practicing despite the cool water he'd drank in the bedroom. He would ask his Alpha to go throw together some homemade milkshakes soon but right now he was alright with cuddling.

 

Michael pecked under his chin. “Hey, Alpha?”

 

Geoff was practically glowing. “Yeah, baby?”

 

“Go fucking make us some milkshakes.”

 

 _Or we can have them right now_. Gavin snickered to himself and tugged at the man's sleeve. “Milkshakes, Geoff.”

 

“You two are assholes.”

 

“ 'Milkshakes, Geoff',” Michael echoed in his lame, cockney impression of the Brit.

 

“But I'm _comfortable_ ,” Geoff whined, head falling back against the couch.

 

He got jabbed in the chest by Michael's finger and let out a low _oof_ .

 

“Do it, old man.”

 

“Fucking brats,” Geoff cursed lightly as he shrugged them off. “Fine, fuck, what flavors do you want?”

 

“Score,” Michael husks, shooting a wink at his Omega mate before he spoke up. “Chocolate. Duh.”

 

Geoff pawed at the boy's face until he got an annoyed snarl before he turned and pushed the bend of his thumb under the Brit's chin. “What about you?”

 

Gavin beamed. “Strawberry sounds top.”

 

“Yours first, then.”

 

"That's not fucking fair!"

  
"It's fair when you're being a brat!"

 

o0o0o0o

 

Sundays were lazy in the Ramsey/Jones/Free household. Friday were the having-friends-over days usually with a small pool party and swimmy bevs and Peggle to wind down the week. Saturday was for getting together to go out, dinner and drinks and pool, sometimes going to clubs if the Lads were feeling it. They liked to pal around with some of the younger office crowd on those nights and usually didn't return until way late in a taxi, falling all over each other and sloppy.

 

But Sundays – those were for playful games and big meals and languid naps.

 

Geoff had been indulging in that last bit for a while and when he woke up it was to lazy sunlight laying across his chest and one sock missing. He berated his sock for losing its mate before he toed it off and let it fall to the carpet. He stretched and cringed when his back popped loudly. When no pain came he deemed it alright and sat up, flexing a bit more before he got up and started shuffling out into the hall. _Always Sunny_ was playing on the new TV, a device they'd all pitched in for as a gift for themselves. It was pitched a little lower than usual and when he stepped into the living room it wasn't' hard to figure out why.

 

Michael had an arm flung along the back of the couch and his head tilted back, the start of serious curls crushed against the cushion. There were high flags of color on his cheeks, teeth raking slowly over his lower lip. His eyes were closed but his lashes were flicking, brow just barely starting to furrow. He looked so damn pretty and _relaxed_. It warmed up Geoff's Alpha instincts. He walked leisurely around the couch, eyes raking over Michael's tempting expression and the heave of his chest, the way the hem of his shirt bunched up above his belly button from how he was was slumped. His boxers were gone, tossed carelessly across the carpet to expose everything.

 

Fleshy thighs were parted to make room for his Omega mate.

 

Gavin was settled comfortably on his knees between Michael's legs, one of their softer blankets folded up and shoved under him to keep the carpet from digging into his legs. He was still in in his pajamas and he looked right at home with his arms draped over the other Omega's legs and mouth all snug around the base of his cock. He wasn't drooling or struggling. In fact, Geoff hadn't seen Gavin so calm in days. The Brit was humming lightly as his cheeks hollowed now and then, head bobbing so slowly as Michael fiddled with his ungelled hair.

 

It was heartbreakingly intimate and Geoff wanted in on the action.

 

Geoff snuck up on Gavin just as the Omega started to open his eyes, curious coos muffled by his mate's length. He knelt down and fitted himself up behind the Brit, pressing his chest to that lithe back and wrapping his arms around him. Gavin nearly pulled off Michael but the other Lad's fingers tightened up in his hair, dark eyes cracking open to glare down at him. “Don't you fucking stop.”

 

“Yeah, Gavvy, don't stop,” Geoff commanded gently as he suckled kisses along his mate's nape. Gavin shivered and continued with a new rhythm as he was overcome with the urge to please both men. The Alpha started nipping, canines pinching the sensitive skin to make all the blood rush there. Blossoms of heat started appearing all along the boy's throat and soon Geoff wasn't content with just nibbling. Inked fingers snuck around Gavin's waist and started working on the button of his pajama pants, ducking inside the folds to fiddle with the second slit of his boxers.

 

Gavin started sucking harder as the Alpha's hand got closer and closer to where he was neediest. Michael got nosier and he damn near yelped when Geoff's fingers finally curled around the boy's cock, the shaft fitting perfectly in his grip with how it curved, how long it was. The wet, fleshy tip was thumbed and foreskin caught on the man's digit. After playing with Michael's cut cock for so long Geoff enjoyed the contrast, and he couldn't wait to properly flick his tongue along it.

 

_Soon. There's no rushing any of this._

 

“You've already got him so close,” Geoff rumbled as he started to get some good, full strokes to the Omega's cock. “You're making our mate feel so good. You want a belly full of his cum, baby boy?”

 

Gavin's eyes popped open with a sudden, surprised whine while he throbbed noticeably in his Alpha's fingers. Geoff grinned knowingly and moved up, rubbing the lump in his jeans against the Brit's ass while his lips grazed his ear. “It's not as thick as mine, I know, but it'll satisfy a thirsty twink like you.”

 

Michael moaned openly at the words and started rolling his hips up, the reminder that his seed wasn't nearly as potent as his Alpha's own driving him _wild_. He raked his fingers through his hair and struggled to get a full breath as the pressure in his groin doubled with just the implication that Geoff's cock was more virile, a reminder of their size difference and the contrast of their statuses. With three guys he knew pregnancy wasn't a thing they had to worry about, the fact that Omega males could get wet and go through heats like their female counterparts was just a trick of evolution to secure their survival.

 

But none of that fucking mattered when he was all hot and bothered thinking of gushing his _inferior seed_ down his Omega's throat while their Alpha watched and readied himself to breed both his mates.

 

 _God damn it, fucking waiting, this is bullshit. We should all be fucking each other now._ Michael growled in frustration and pumped his hips harder, pulling Gavin's hair to keep him from moving off. He knew that their new mate wasn't ready for the full experience yet, that they were trying to slowly work through abandonment issues and the complexities of sharing each other romantically and sexually, but he was getting tired of waiting. They all were. Once he'd flushed out his hormones and his cock had softened he would remember that this was a relationship worth waiting for but it was hard to think logically when Gavin was moaning around him and starting to slide along his dick to Geoff's whispered instructions.

 

“Run your tongue right underneath the head, love. Michael loves that shit. Pay attention to the bottom, I bet it's throbbing so hard from your wet mouth rubbing all over it. Keep your lips tight, don't stop moving...even when he's trying to fuck your throat, don't let him go until he unravels for you.”

 

The Omegas were both whining almost in time to their Alpha's words.

 

“Next time we'll get him standing up so you can suck his cock while I eat out his hole. He's so wet for you, Gav, I can smell it.” Geoff's canines were starting to ache and his bites became harder, getting the Brit to leak all over his pumping fingers. “I should put him flat on his back, the bendy little fuck. I'd shove your face between his cheeks and wouldn't let you up for air until your belly was fucking full of his slick.”

 

“ _Al-pha_.” Michael's voice cracked hard on the word and he let out a rough cry of agonized bliss as every muscle in his body went taunt. He pumped up twice into Gavin's willing mouth before he went still, mouth dropping open wide like he was enticing his Alpha to fill it. Gavin's sounds got more wet and he started to swallow, pupils blown as his glands started to react to the taste of his mate's cum. He huffed in the musky cherry scent as his hips finally disobeyed, knees digging harder into the blanket as he started to fuck Geoff's hand.

 

Geoff pumped his boy with every trick he knew, thumbing at the exposed, shiny head and twisting his wrist with every upthrust. He chewed harder at the back of Gavin's throat and tightened his grip to try and mimic a grasping hole, using the erotic slide of Michael's cock across the boy's tongue to try and push him over the edge.

 

Gavin moaned and swallowed desperately around the softening cock between his lips, Michael's oversensitive mewls and the way he scratched at his shoulders to get him to slow down did him in. Gavin rocked into his Alpha's hand and the moment the man squeezed around the tender, knotless base he started to spill. It was just a few thick drops at first and then a full body pulse had him striping across the carpet, the couch, even his boxers. It was a long, shuddering end and by the end his eyes were glazed and he was blindingly groping at the thighs in front of him.

 

“Alpha,” Gavin puffed as he rested his head on the other Lad's leg, eyes falling closed as he basked in the new, warm buzz and the swirl of their scents. Heated lemon with fizzling drops of cherry, all poured into a glass and drunk on a spring day. His poetic, fuzzy mind made him grin like a dope and he giggled a little. “Michael.”

 

Geoff got some wet wipes out of the side table and wiped up what he could. He used a fresh wipe for each of his boy's holes. They clung to him and muttered about how embarrassing it was but he shut them up with small kisses and quick movements, cleaning up their slick so they didn't get itchy as they hung out for the rest of the evening. He knew his boys wouldn't go shower just because of a blowie or two so he was looking out for them, licking their protests off their tongues and getting them fresh sweatpants to lounge in.

 

They piled on the couch together, Alpha instincts settled and the two Omegas flushed with content. Michael tucked into Geoff's side, his favorite spot, and Gavin fluffed a pillow under his head and kicked his legs out over their laps. A DS was fished out from under the couch and Gavin managed to find his phone without moving too much so the Lads were happily settled down.

 

“So,” Geoff spoke up when the first commercial came up in the still-running television show. “You gonna' work up to my knot anytime soon, Gav?”

 

“Bloody fuck,” Gavin cursed sharply as he fumbled his phone, eyes wide when they shot up to the Alpha's smug face. “H-How did you – do you – ”

 

“Eventually,” Michael cut in. He butted his head against Geoff's shoulder and shot a wink at the other Omega. He'd known about their mate spying on their “practice sessions” and even if he hadn't he would've known that Geoff caught on quick to stuff like this.

 

“If you need any help...” Geoff trailed off.

 

“Shut the fuck up and put on a new episode.”

 

 


	73. Ray and Sex Toys - Part I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ray finally decides to start going through the toys Lindsay got him. Some are fun! Some...not so much.

Ray stayed in bed way too long. The room was overly warm from the beat of the Texas sun and he was flushed all over. The sheet was laying haphazardly across his hips and he'd managed to sprawl out over his pillows throughout the morning. It had to be creeping close to noon but he didn't care. Ray sighed and huffed into the pillow clutched in his arms and flexed his fingers, his toes, arching his spine as much as he could to work out the stiffness there. He was still half-hard from the wet dream he'd woken from and the rush of pleasure had made him languid. Lashes glinted in long, lazy blinks and blurry eyes stared at nothing in particular.

 

Then he caught a whiff of Ryan.

 

Ray mewled curiously and sniffed around until he nabbed the pillow that had fallen onto the floor sometime during the night. He buried his face in it and moaned as his lungs were flooded with his boyfriend's buttery warm scent. He could taste fresh bread and almost hear the crackles of a freshly lit fireplace. He barely restrained himself from licking at the material. Still half-asleep, his dick started twitching and plumping up just from the smell of his mate. He growled pathetically into the pillow and rolled his hips, the scratch of sheets too much on his sensitive skin.

 

A flash of an idea hit him and he didn't bother to think it over too much before he reared up to shove the pillow under his hips. It was amazingly cool and hugged his cock the second he laid down on it. He got a sick thrill out of the way his ass was propped up, cheeks parting to let the warm air brush at his hole. His cheek rubbed against the sheet and he let himself fall into a sloppy presenting stance, knees sliding a little further apart for an Alpha who wasn't there.

 

Ray puffed out a breath and flexed his cock against the pillow, a hand sliding through the sheets to bunch the material up between his knuckles. His hips got restless and his wetness beaded at the slight head of his dick. It seeped into the fibers of the case and though it was kind of itchy, it was _good._ He kept moving, arms sliding noisily in the bedding, breath starting to pick up. It was more effort to move than there was pleasure to gain but something about humping up into the softness, thighs spread and the room so cozy, that felt satisfying.

 

The Omega began to whine lightly as his knees dug into the mattress and he started working harder, trying not to press hard enough to rub his flesh raw but too eager to stop. There was a gradual heat building up in his gut and it had a edge to it he hadn't expected. He couldn’t get a full breath and his lower back ached and he loved it.

 

“Oh, oh...”

 

The sounds punched out of him when he started to rub just the right way. Breathless, pathetic sounds that started to mix in with Omegan whines that were meant to entice an Alpha to breed them. Everything was so hot – the air, the blankets, his very blood – and the only thing that would give him any relief was either a bodily release or...or...

 

Ray's eyes screwed up and his nose scrunched, hips snapping forward half a dozen times as he belted out a long, drawn out cry of his boyfriend's name. His tongue stuck on the hard 'n' and it morphed into a whine as he felt himself stripe the pillow with his cum, each hump of his hips smearing it wetly and giving him something slick to fuck into. His hips kept moving, relentless, but only for a few more moments before he went slack.

 

He huffed and slumped into the bed, grinning weakly as the pleasant buzz swirled around and around in his mind. His hums were small and submissive for his invisible Alpha, and for a moment he truly believed Ryan was watching. That little daydream quickly died when he realized that if his boyfriend had truly been there he would've watched him hump a pillow until he jizzed all over himself. He blushed and sat up on his elbows, lifting his hips and groaning in dismay when he saw the complete mess he had made of himself and the pillow. He was leaking all over and the slick was sticky on his skin, cum drying all over his groin.

 

“Gross,” Ray grunted.

 

He resisted the urge to plop back down in the mess and hefted himself up off the mattress. He’d have to take a shower and do laundry before Tina decided to knock down his door from bailing on their lunch plans. He looked at his phone and contemplated texting Ryan something cheeky like “Thinking of you” with a shit-ton of hearts or something.

 

Even alone in his apartment, Ray got flustered at the thought of what he’d just done and decided not to just in case Ryan could somehow figure out what he’d done. _Smart asshole._

 

o0o

 

Ray finally gave in the next day and dug through through his closet. It wasn't hard to find the box of toys Lindsay had given to him on during his presenting party. He'd confessed to Geoff that he thought it was too extravagant, that she'd spent too much, but he reminded him that this was like a biological graduation present. It was fitting for the presenter to get a bundle of gifts for their status. It used to be suppressants and plastic sheets and slick pads but Geoff shrugged and said the new modern thing was to get a bunch of toys.

 

“ _And she wants you to have fun, brat. Be grateful. That's a shit ton of money in that box._ ”

 

Ray hadn't really looked through it besides the morning after the party. At first he'd thought it'd been full of joke toys but some of it looked pretty nice (considering he had had no experience with this kind of stuff). He popped open the top and started to look through all the packages inside. Some were in plastic or black bags, others in actual wrapping paper. He turned over one of the dildo packages and read “pump-knot action” and quickly threw it back in.

 

He was ready to shut it up and toss the box back into the closet but he could still remember the bed-humping incident the other day. Jerking off had been alright lately but each timed seemed a little more lackluster than the last. He was still getting used to the fact that he could make his own slick and he hardly ever touched himself like that. He knew he was more sensitive now and it was about time to suck it up and give it a try. At least half of them had to feel good. Maybe start with fingering, use some of these things...

 

_And get Ryan into bed._

 

Ray grinned to himself and looked over the toys with a new light. Ryan was more experienced by far and the Alpha had looked through the box more thoroughly than he had without saying anything so they couldn't be _too_ awful.

 

 _Tonight_ , Ray decided as he kicked the box to the end of the bed.

 

o0o

 

When he got home from work, Ray went straight to the box. He'd been half hard all day from hanging off Ryan and deeply scenting with his mate through lunch. He plopped down in front of it and dug through the contents, vowing to make some sort of list in order to try them or something to make the process a little easier. After flipping over a few packages and squeezing a black bag that felt suspiciously squishy, he decided on a little yellow bottle labeled “Omega Xcite Balm (TM)”. He read the description with a curious frown. It was supposed to be some sort of enhancing lube for Omegas. It would mix with his natural hormones and create “extra sensitivity”.

 

“Tingly,” Ray declared with a half shrug. He got up onto the bed and unbuckled his belt, shorts and underwear falling to the floor along with his socks. He flicked the cap and let the surprisingly golden liquid drizzle over his fingers. It was artificially warm but not much else. “Huh. Pretty.”

 

This was a good way to start off. He braced his hand on the bed and got comfortable, mind filling of thoughts of his boyfriend's broad chest and buttery scent. He chewed his lower lip and made a little noise as he started to get hard. He wrapped his hand around his dick and gave it a nice, long stroke to spread out the Balm. It wasn't anything special at first, just wet, and then it started to warm up.

 

“That's what I'm talking about,” Ray chuckled, starting to lay back pausing when the sensation grew. “Uh..that's...that's _not_ what I'm talking about. What the fuck?”

 

Ray took his hand off his dick and the arousal faded out to replaced with a growing, stinging sensation. And then it started to _burn_. He yelped and let out a string of “fuck” as he ran to the bathroom (making sure to grab his phone). He slapped on the cold tap. He made a slew of embarrassing, high-pitched noises as the icy water hit his dick. He bounced from foot to foot and hissed when it turned to pins-and-needles. He rucked up his damp shirt and kept his lower half in the cold water as he dialed Lindsay's number.

 

o0o

 

“You assshole!”

  
  
“ _Ray? Ray, what the fuck, man?_ ”

  
“ 'Omega Xcite' What the fuck is this? Bee juice? Fucking acid? What did you give me!?”

 

Lindsay burst into giggles over the line. “ _You fucking virgin. I can't believe you used that without looking it up. I can't believe you didn't already know about that stuff! It's a dollar at the sex shop, of course it burns._ ”

 

“I fucking hate you and – oh thank Christ, it's stopped stinging. Bang 'ya later.”

 

He hung up to Lindsay still barking out hoarse laughs at how stupid he was.

 

o0o0o0o

 

Ray sorted through the box two days later and found a normal bottle of unscented lube. He double checked the label name on the internet (OmegaGlide) and it was just an Omega-friendly brand with good reviews that came in larger bottles than KY. He found it sitting next to a package he didn't recognize right away. He took it out of the box and turned it over in his hands a few times before he burst out into a loud bark of laughter.

 

A fleshlight. It was an honest to God fleshlight that had a plain black exterior. It looked like an industrial flashlight. _Cool, I'll just look like a guy fucking his flashlight. Sweet._ He took it out and it surprisingly came with a little booklet. The toy was weighed in one hand, the other holding the pages apart so he could read about how to clean it. Simple enough.

 

“I can't believe I'm doing this.”

 

The first warm tingles of arousal were building up in his thighs when he went to the kitchen to wash the toy and wipe it out as well as he could. The walk back to the bedroom gave him a flutter of excitement and he tried not to think about it too hard. Getting off with a toy his friend bought him for the sole purpose of getting him trained up (though he supposed this was just like a stamina test thing) to be a good bed partner to his Alpha? It was kind of hot.

 

Ray tugged off his shirt and his pants got tangled around his ankles in his haste to kick them off. _So it's kind of fucking totally hot, whatever._

 

Ray climbed onto the bed and knelt in the middle of it to face his TV. He thought he looked ridiculous, naked and scrawny and kind of soft around the hips with his legs spread, cock thickening up and starting to strain against his stomach. He averted his gaze. If he kept looking he would end up trashing the whole idea and sulk into video games.

 

_Not this time._

 

He poured a healthy amount of lube into his palm and coated his cock, hissing through his teeth when he realized it was freezing cold from being in the closet next to the AC unit. A few rubs and he was fully hard, all the blood rushing south warming up everything. Once he was good and ready he grabbed the fleshlight and held it up. He started a little countdown in his head and closed his eyes tight before easing his cock inside.

 

It was surprisingly textured. Little bumps and ridges that didn’t scrape his sensitive skin thanks to the excess lube. It was a small size and he hated Lindsay a little for knowing how big his dick was before she ever saw him naked. The pressure against his dick made him shiver, some kind of lip towards the back hugging the head of his cock right. He knew he didn’t have a possessive, Alpha cock but it still flicked the ridge with every tiny thrust.

 

It wasn’t the best thing but it was pretty good. He moaned under his breath and tried to fuck into it but the leverage was wrong. He kind of just humped into it like a dog and the thought was embarrassing. He got up on his knees completely and dug them into the bed to get a good grip. The position was familiar. He could vividly remember straddling Ryan’s lap while his boyfriend guided his hips in a satisfying grind, showing him how he would move on his cock once they fell into bed. He could almost feel the Alpha’s hands on his waist, gripping his thighs, pumping his cock…

 

Ray mimicked that night, sliding out of the toy about halfway before fucking back into it. With just a handful of those movements he was panting, breath starting to come a little rougher. The rhythm felt _so_ fucking good and he did his best to keep it up, not wanting to falter into that fruitless humping again just because he was lazy. He huffed out Ryan’s name in a shy whisper, just at first, but his call got louder as the pleasure started to build up. He chewed his lower lip raw, ashamed of how needy he sounded. If any of the guys knew about this they’d never let it go, and if Ryan knew he was whining out his name because of a fucking _fleshlight_ it would be the end of his pride.

 

“Fucking shit,” Ray cursed nonsensically as he upped his movements, warmth curling in his balls and clawing into his thighs. He twisted the toy in small circles when he could, moaning out loud at how the textured ridges clung to his cock. He didn’t care anymore what was on his dick, all he knew was that it was slick and tight and he could _almost_ pretend it was Ryan’s mouth. His Alpha’s lips would be darker than their usual pink, swollen from abuse, smooth from the cherry chapstick the man always kept in his desk. His cheeks would hollow with each bob, hands greedy against Ray’s cheeks, maybe even those fingers growing bold to run over his flexing rim. They’d massage over the muscle, coax it into giving way to blunt digits as Ryan sucked him down to the hilt.

 

And he’d swallow it _all_.

 

Ray was shoved over the edge by the fantasy of painting his Alpha’s mouth with his cum. He rutted hard into the toy, grinding it against his cock as he filled the tunnel up with his release. He tried to hang on to the erotic image of Ryan’s lips dripping with the evidence of his pleasure but it unraveled when the toy gave a wet _schleck_ as he pulled out of it. Jizz dripped out of the artificial mouth opening and he gagged, the illusion gone.

 

_I’m just a big fucking virgin loser who just nutted in a flashlight._

 

-

 

After a big clean up, the toy got trashed and he texted Lindsay.

 

To **LTuggey** :

_Fucking a flashlight isn’t fun 0/10, will not do again_

 

To **BrownDick:**

_Depends on the flashlight ;0_

 

o0o0o0o

 

It took Ray almost a week before he went back to the box. He was more careful in his selection this time. He chose something relatively simple – a bullet vibe. With a little turn it could vibrate pretty strongly and his fingers tingled from just holding onto it. He grabbed the little egg-like device and a bottle of oil that claimed to warm the skin when applied before jumping into bed. A quick search on his phone proved the oil pretty legit but he sat it aside, still unsure.

 

Ray stretched out on his bed and tried to relax, breathing deep and easy as he sunk into the pillows. He rested his head on the one that smelled like Ryan and when he ran his feet across the sheets it kicked up more of his boyfriend’s scent. He cooed and let his knees natural fall apart, left hand drifting down to lazily paw at his plumping cock. He just let himself feel for a while, rolling the soft shaft between his fingers and letting the cool air brush all the sensitive bit between his legs. Behind his lids, images of his Alpha drifted by. How nice his hair felt between his fingers, how his thighs trembled when he nipped at them, how strong he was…how contagious his laugh was, how kind he could be…

 

“ _I wouldn't have stopped with a kiss on the cheek like the rest of those Alphas. You don't just smell good, Ray. You smell like something to be eaten up by the handful.”_

 

That wonderful man was all his.

 

Ray started off with a light touch at first. He brushed the warming bullet against the exposed rim of his hole, letting it trail behind his balls and up over the mound. It tickled at first but as he got more used to it the drag felt nice, the anticipation of the vibrations making him twitchy in a good way. He began to feel a little more warm and when he shifted a little he could tell he was wet, a faint blush staining his cheeks as his hole started to open up for a mate that was only in his head.

 

He rubbed the bullet over the damp rim and the little trickle of slick he got in response made him shiver. He half wondered what he looked like but there wasn’t much more in the world that turned him off faster than getting a glimpse of himself trying to be sexy. The toy circled his rim a few times, teasing him, and when he couldn’t take it anymore he turned the top. The bullet hummed to life and he didn’t need to double check if he was ready because the moment he pushed the tip of it against himself his body opened up for it.

 

Ray’s breath hitched in a high moan as he eased in half the bullet, rim clamping down on the smooth surface to soak in the vibrations. It was a strong, buzzy little thing and it felt absolutely _amazing_. His hips jerked as he tried to get used to the sensation and soon the almost-sharp vibrations turned into a pleasant hum. He could feel it in his balls and all the way to the tip of his cock, everything below his belly button twitching as his nerves were kickstarted by the brand new sensation. Nipples hardened, beckoning a mouth though the room was empty, and the boy thrashed his head on the pillow.

 

Ryan’s scent hit his nose and he got greedy.

 

The toy was too small, too smooth, and he couldn’t get a proper thrust. Ray whined in frustration and bore down too hard, fingers fumbling in slick. His stomach bottomed out the second he felt the toy leave his grip to slide deeper inside and he reacted quickly, fingertips painfully digging past his rim and grasping desperately at the bullet. His nails caught in the slight, middle ridge that separated the two parts in design and he yanked it out. The toy buzzed obnoxiously on the sheet, whirring loud enough to trigger some anxious feelings about what a _fuck up_ he was.

 

He picked it up with a snarl and chucked the toy across the room. It cracked against the wall and was permanently silenced as it fell to the carpet in two pieces. He glared at it though he still leaked onto the sheets, body yearning for a proper fuck his Alpha. Even with the brief panic of losing grip on the toy and the nightmare that would've been that hospital trip, he was still hard.

 

Ray fell back into the pillows and side at the ceiling. He took time to breathe and felt his heart calm down, panic fading out into a low simmer of arousal. He pet idly at his chest, nipples tickling his palm and goosebumps cropping up on his skin. Once he felt calm enough to keep going, and he double checked with his dick that it still wanted to go on, he picked up the oil. He drizzled it over his fingers and rubbed them together, testing it.

 

It was warm on his digits but even hotter on his cock. The pleasant tingling and the friction got to him and he was spilling in no time.

 

o0o0o0o

  
“Okay, I _know_ what these are.”

 

Ray took a string of beads out of a clear pull-bag. They were a space-y violet color and went from about as round as a quarter up to a size above a golf ball. He wouldn't be able to take the last two sections but the rest of it looked like it could be interesting. As he settled into bed with the bottle of lube he had sharp flashbacks of the bullet vibe and how he'd nearly lost it in a very terrifying way. But this toy had a ring at the end to keep at least one finger tethered to it so that put him at ease.

 

The balls looked solid but they were surprisingly squishy and soft under his fingertips with a solid core. It would be an experience, if nothing else. The point of all this was to get some of that so that when he finally went all the way with Ryan it wouldn't be a huge disappointment. There were worse ways to do that than anal beads.

 

Ray spent a few minutes squeezing his soft cock until it started to plump up. He braced one hand on the bed, bare of anything besides his glasses, and let his other hand slide past his balls. Fingers rubbed his hole, massaging the muscle in slow circles, gasping into the empty room as he felt himself start to dilate. A thick ooze of slick brushed his digits and when he pressed they sunk inside a little. He'd only done this a couple times but he planned to get more familiar with fingering, find out how his body worked and what he liked the most.

 

More slick dribbled up. Ray spread out on the blanket and parted his legs, palm rubbing over his hard cock a few times to keep it interested (though at his age and for how excited he was, he doubted he’d get soft again until he was done). He grabbed the toy and just went for it, eyes clenched shut as he started to ease the first ball inside.

 

He imagined he could hear a little _pop_ as it slid past his rim. His body swallowed it up easily. The slick started to drip a little more prominently at the stimulation and it tickled a little as it slid along his cleft. He slid inside the second ball and bore down on the small intrusion, mouth dropping open as the toy gave to his clenching. It felt like two of his fingers but a little _more_. Ray gradually rolled them around and enjoyed the drag against his walls, sighing pleasantly and letting his hips start to squirm around. He teased himself at first as he let the ball pop in and out of his hole, twitching every time the sensitive rim was stretched. He took the third at a snail's pace and chittered out loud, flushing hot at the Omega sound.

 

_One or two more and that's it._

 

Ray tossed off his glasses and let his arm drape over his eyes, hiding himself as humiliating chitters and coos escaped him. As the fourth ball stretched him as wide as he'd ever been (which wasn't too much, maybe three fingers worth), his pleased sounds were interrupted by a brief whine. He wished desperately his Alpha was here to see him, to be proud of him for taking it so well.

 

Ray removed the beads before he touched himself, and he barely lasted a few strokes before screaming out _fuck_ and making a mess.

 

o0o

 

“It was so fucking hot, dude,” Ray gushed in the car on the way to work the next morning. The only reason he wasn't bouncing was because there was a faint soreness in his ass and he didn't want to aggravate it. “The biggest one I took was like _this_ and I took it like a fucking pro. Okay, well, not like a 'pro'-pro. But I did it! Probably the biggest thing I've taken so far.” He was still bragging as they stopped at a red light. “Ten out of ten, I'm keeping them. When I can take more I think they'll feel super fucking good.”

 

Ryan threw his head back against the seat and groaned. Ray thought he was annoying his boyfriend at first (those shades hid his expressive eyes) but then the Alpha palmed himself through his jeans. There was a denim swell there and it made his heart flutter. “Got a problem there, Rye?”

  
  
“You have no idea how hot all that sounds,” Ryan grunted out in frustration as he forced his hands back on the wheel. “It's too early to be this turned on.”

 

Ray played with the string of his jacket as he basked in the praise. Though the Alpha probably didn't realize it, knowing that he could turn him on with just an _idea_ was incredibly flattering. “Maybe I can, uh...send you a picture next time?”  


Ryan's head whipped toward him and he felt a flicker of panic. “Dude, the road!”

 

Ryan quickly looked back and put his attention back to traffic but his mind was almost audibly whirring with possibilities. “Sorry, I just – listen, Ray, you don't _have_ to do anything like that. I'm glad you're going through those toys. Discovering yourself like this is so fucking healthy. But I don't want you to push yourself? Not just with toys, but with something like taking pictures of yourself.”

 

“I trust you,” Ray blurted out immediately, ears burning at the tips. “I mean, you wouldn't show anyone, and it's not like you'd make copies. And if something happens between us, I fucking _know_ you wouldn't post them.”

 

“Never,” Ryan hissed through his teeth. “That shit is disgusting. I don't like this think about it, but if we don't work out I would delete them in front of you. Your safety means everything to me.”

 

Ray's heart flutter was for more innocent reasons this time. He laid his hand on the man's leg and smiled when he glanced over. “I know, Rye. So if I send you anything it's because I _want_ to, okay? Want you to see them and maybe think I'm kinda hot.”

 

“You're totally kind of hot,” Ryan drawled teasingly. He got a pinch and jumped, the car jerking just slightly. They both laughed at the terrified look on the woman's face in the Neon behind them. The car ride went quietly until they pulled into the office parking lot. Ryan snagged him by the strap of his backpack and yanked him over the middle console to press a kiss onto his mouth.

 

“Whatever you send me, you better be okay with me jerking off to it.”

 

The words hit Ray right in the gut and he sighed hard against his lips. “Jesus Christ, dude.”  


“I'm serious.” The look on his face backed that up, eyes sharp and cheeks a little pink. “I think you're gorgeous. I've seen so much of you already.” Ryan's thumb rubbed over his chin and his eyes threatened to fall shut. “But the second I see you naked in my bed I'm going to cum in my pants like a teenager.” Ray couldn't contain his laugh and the Alpha broke into a dumb smile. “I'm serious, now.”  


“Good,” Ray replied boldly, taking another tiny kiss. “I'll try not to send them to you during work, then. Don't you want you creaming your shorts in front of the boss.”

 

A blonde brow raised at him. “From what I can recall, you were on board me getting off in front of Geoff.”

 

Ray opened his mouth to comment about how fucking hot it would be to see Ryan submitting to Geoff, watching it with the other Lads, but that fantasy would have to wait because Jack was shouting and waving at them with a big white box in his hand.

 

“Guys, I got doughnuts!”

 

Two stomachs growled in unison and they darted out of the car.

 

o0o0o0o

 

Ray skipped out and went home early on Wednesday. He got comfortable in some boxers, ate snack, played a round of COD, and then headed to the bedroom. He kicked the box out of the closet and flipped open the flaps. He covered his eyes with one hand while the other rifled through, knuckles bumping against bags and packages. His nails caught on some wrapping paper and he snagged it up. It was flat and wiggly with obnoxiously bright paper. He tore through it and the room filled with loud, barking laughter.

 

Cannabis leaf pasties.

 

They were kind of big and silly looking but he loved them instantly. He ripped the plastic with his canines and then dug them out. The leaves pealed away from the paper easily enough, and the adhesive didn't look funky so he didn't hesitate to put them over each nipple. The green stood out against his skin in a comical way and he knew he had to show someone.

 

_Well, he wanted a picture._

 

Ray almost couldn't stop laughing long enough to take a proper picture with his phone, the camera shaking as he saw how ridiculous he looked. He settled on a basic chest pic with just a hint of his amused grin and sent it to his Alpha. It took less for a minute for a reply.

 

From **TheBoyfriendGuy** :  
_I'm gonna put you on a pole ;D_

 

“Look at him, using emoticons,” Ray chuckled to himself as he tapped out a reply.

 

To **TheBoyfriendGuy** :  
_Depends on the pole <3_

 

From **TheBoyfriendGuy** :  
_I'm not talking about my dick, but if you're offering..._

 

Ray could imagine the Alpha's amused smirk and it gave him a nice little _pang_ low in his gut. He prodded at the pasties and marveled at how they stuck so well without pulling. There was no itching or anything so he decided to keep them on and get back to the box. There was a bulging black bag in the corner and when he grabbed it there was a strange, soundless _squish_. He ripped off the top and took out some kind of furry ball.

 

No, not a ball. A _bunny tail_. It was realistic in the way where it was sloped on top a bit (which was a smooth caramel color) and fluffier at the bottom (where it was snow white). It was insanely soft and he awed over it, petting through the fake fur. It was was big enough for a person to wear to size.

 

 _Is it part of a costume or – oh, okay._ Ray stared in disbelief when his hand curled around the black buttplug that was so expertly fitted to where the tail would connect. It had taken him much too long to realize the fluffy thing was a fetish toy. Either way, it was super cute and fucking hilarious.

 

Ray grabbed the lube off the dresser and decided to give it a try. He had to do it at least _once_ because when the hell would he ever get to wear something like this again? No one was going to see it.

 

“Yolo,” he snickered as he lubed up the tapered shaft, noting how it dipped at the base to help keep it inside. He bent over and braced his hand on the bed, biting his lip in concentration as he felt around for his hole without smearing off all the lube. It took two tries but eventually he managed to catch his rim and press _in_. The glide was nice and his hand was steady. The stretch was so fucking nice. 

 

Once it was all the way in, Ray stood up and wiggled around. The toy wasn't too big, about the size of the four beads from the last toy, but curved to stay inside and pressing on new spots. As it rubbed against him and he felt the soft faux-fur between his cheeks he found himself getting a little more than excited. Half-hard and freshly emboldened, Ray took the phone up again and angled it in a way that showed off the tail and the lowest part of his back to show _exactly_ where it was without revealing too much. He sent it to Ryan without thinking too much about it but the moment he saw the _seen_ checkmark his stomach writhed like it was going to bottom out.

 

This probably looked awful to someone experienced like Ryan. At most it was a transparent, amateur display from a cocktease who wouldn't give it up. At worst he was just desperate and testing the respect Ryan had for him. He knew realistically that Ryan wouldn't find, that he would at least find it cute, but those old anxieties were starting to fester in the back of his mind.

 

Ray had no idea that just fifteen minutes away a certain Alpha dropped his keys and smacked his head against the door from gaping at his phone.

 

Just when he was ready to yank out the tail and toss his phone to forget the whole thing, a message pinged into view.

 

From **TheBoyfriendGuy** :

_That is insanely cute. I would love to pet you right now. Try not to hump the pillows._

 

A hysterical bubble of laughter escaped the lad and he relaxed. _Good, he doesn't think I'm an idiot._

 

Another message popped up.

 

From **TheBoyfriendGuy** :

_Scratch that – be a good bun and hump the pillows._

 

Ray sputtered loudly in the privacy of his room and stared at his phone as the filthiest idea started to take root in his head. His cock dripped, now fully hard and begging to be touched. Ryan said pictures were okay, and now this message...the thought of getting Ryan hot and bothered from a teasing picture started to become more appealing by the second. He shuffled the few steps to the bed and flopped down on his belly.

 

It was kind of risky but there was a hot thrill of adrenaline pulsing through his veins and he wanted to ride it for all it was worth.

 

To **TheBoyfriendGuy** :

_You home yet?_

 

From **TheBoyfriendGuy** :

_Just got in, why?_

 

Ray snatched the pillow Ryan normally used and wiggled it under his hips. His cock fit right into the cool folds and it felt like that embarrassing pillow-humping all over again. Thinking about it how it would appear, he snatched another small pillow to put under his chin or brace his arm on. He moved around a little, arching his back shifting his hips up, cocking his head this way and that. He settled for tilting his camera to catch just his hair and a bit of his ear but the greatest view of the tail between his chips. It was touching the dip of his back and somehow the fake fur against his tan skin made it seem more innocent.

 

_Click_

 

-

 

Ryan shucked off his belt and his phone went off. He sat down on the bed with a huff and swiped his phone up to unlock it. There was just an ellipses at first and then a picture popped into view. It was hard to register at first but when he did his jaw dropped open.

 

It was his lovely Omega boy. Ray's face wasn't visible but the long, smooth slope of his back was. The edge of his ribs, furred calves crossed at the ankle, hips propped up on an overly familiar pillow to show off the curves of his ass. He wanted to cup those cheeks so badly, to sink his teeth into the flesh until it bruised, to thumb at them afterward and kiss the ache away. But between those small cheeks was a new feature – an incredibly soft looking rabbit tail. From how well it sat against the Lad's skin he could tell it truly was one of those buttplug tails.

 

Ray had something inside his virgin ass and was _showing_ it to him.

 

Ryan shucked off his jeans and boxers in one swoop. He didn't move to take off his shirt, he could hardly be bothered to do more than lick his hand before he fisted his cock. It was half hard and fattening up fast as he held the phone with his other hand, staring at the image through half lidded eyes. As much as he loved Ray for his curious mind and deep laugh and fragile heart, he could not deny he had a strong thirst to get his hands on that body. It looked smooth and he adored the little moles and marks all over his skin, adding to his aesthetic with their imperfections.

 

That tail. “Fuck.”  


Ryan hated how hot he was getting over a silly fetish. Maybe it wasn't just the tail, maybe it was Ray's confidence, but either way he wanted to touch. He wanted to tug and play with that tail until Ray moaned for mercy, moving into each pet and humping into the pillow for friction. He'd squeeze those cheeks and rake nice, cherry red stripes down quivering thighs and lick at the slick that managed to bubble up around the toy. A warm bath of vanilla for his tongue, he could almost taste it again. Just musky and deep and-

 

Ryan snarled into the room and shot hard across his thighs, staining in knuckles in thick drips. The climax was sudden and unsatisfying. When he stopped growling like the animal he claimed he wasn't, his knot was only half formed and he was _still_ hard.

 

“God damn it, he's going to kill me.”

 

o0o

 

The next morning, Ray caught a ride with Michael.

 

Ryan and Geoff argued lightly over flavored creamer vs sugar vs plain coffee in the kitchen area and were playfully elbowing each other when the Lads walked by. Michael snagged a Redbull out of the fridge and got a scratchy, mustache kiss.

 

“Dude, you want one?” Michael offered as he pushed Geoff away and looked over his shoulder. Ray wasn't paying a lick of attention. It seemed like the other couple were having some kind of shy stare off, Ray red around the ears and Ryan's cheeks looking pinched-red.

 

“Good morning, Ray,” Ryan husked out, hands busy fiddling with his empty mug.

 

“Hey,” Ray breathed back, arms crossed over his chest as he seemed to try and sink into his hoody, looking so small under the Alpha's gaze. Geoff frowned and Michael looked between them.

 

“You guys alright?” the older Omega asked bluntly. “You get into a fight or something?”

 

“No! No, we're fine,” Ryan rushed to defend even as he couldn't look at his boyfriend for more than a few seconds before averting his gaze.

 

“Then kiss and make up and get to work,” Geoff snarked just before the coffee pot pinged.

 

Ray walked over and the Alpha actually backed up into the counter, looking a little frightened. The Lad kept his gaze lowered as he raised up on his toes, one hand laying flat on his boyfriend's chest while he planted a sweet kiss just below his ear, another following on the hidden scent gland under his jaw. Ryan's breath audibly hitched and then Ray pulled away, a pleased smile pulling his lips as he made his way to the office. Michael followed, snickering about Alpha playthings.

 

“So,” Geoff drew out as he filled his mug, “What was all that about?”

 

Ryan chewed on his words for a little too long, fingers dipping into his pocket to pull out his phone. “If I told you something, you _can't_ tell anyone.”

 

Geoff frowned. “You fucking know I'll tell everyone.”

 

“Well then fuck off,” Ryan shot back.

 

“But I wanna' _know_ ,” Geoff whined lightly. “What if I promise to try my hardest _not_ to tell the Lads and I swear not to tell Ray I know or let anyone outside our tiny office get in on it. Deal?”

 

Ryan shoved the phone back into his pocket. “Fine. But you don't get to see the picture.”

 

“Holy shit,” Geoff's voice dropped down to breathy disbelief. “There's a picture?”

 

“Ray's been using the toys out of Lindsay's box lately, and...”

 

Geoff's eyebrows shot to his hairline. “I thought I heard Michael talking about that. But he sent you a fucking _nudie_ pic? Dude, wallpaper.”

 

Ryan's unamused look didn't dampen his excitement. “Not like I was going to show you the good one anyway.”

 

“There's a _good one_? There's _multiple_?” Geoff's voice raised up in pitch, hovering on breaking. “What did he use? Don't show me anything but I just want a name. Come on, I won't say anything to anyone.”  


“You're lying.”

  
  
Geoff pouted and it was somehow too adorable to resist.

 

“Three words.”

 

The older Alpha leaned in eagerly.

 

“Bunny-tail-buttplug.”

 

“Holy fucking shit.” Geoff cursed as he sloppily crossed himself. “Mary and Jesus and all those people because _damn_. And he sent you a pic?”  


Ryan nodded.

 

Geoff rested a hand over his heart. “That boys is growing up fast. I'm so proud.” Then his expression darkened. “And you were going to fucking show me? You better keep that to to your fucking self, man.”

 

“The first picture is just a close up of the toy,” Ryan puffed. “Jesus, Geoff, I wouldn't show anyone _him_. What kind of mate do you think I am?”

 

Geoff worked down his rise of indignation and put on a smirk. “The kind that just totally screwed their boyfriend into weeks of teasing.”

 

o0o

 

By lunch, Michael and Gavin both knew, and Ray had sworn sweet revenge on his Alpha. He wasn't really angry, he'd kind of planned to tell the Lads after work, but Ryan didn't know that and it was funny to watch such a calm guy squirm. But his friends were getting on his fucking nerves.

 

“Look at him,” Gavin cooed during Minecraft as he watched the tuxedo-wearing avatar dart off his kilted counterpart. “Following Rye-bread around like a little rabbit.”

 

To his credit, Ray didn't even flinch.

 

Michael whistled lowly. “Ryan's personal playboy bunny.”

 

Jack frowned at that. “His what?”

 

“Michael,” Geoff scolded mildly.

 

“What?” Michael smirked towards Ray, shooting him a wink to make the other Omega blush. “I'm just saying that he's a cute little rabbit, isn't he Gav?”  


“The loveliest,” Gavin promised. “I'd give my left tit for a little bun like X-Ray to be waiting for me at home.” Something flickered in his green gaze. “Michael, love, you wouldn't maybe be up for getting a little tail of your own?”

 

Michael pursed his lips in a quick air kiss. “Dunno'. I'd have to ask Lindsay if she bought a spare.”

 

Ray groaned and dropped his head on the desk. “A guy gets a little experimental _one_ time and suddenly he's the whore of Babylon.”

 

“Babe,” Ryan protested, frowning at the word. He Ray only needed one too many negative connotations before he got on that slippery slope of anxiety.

 

“ _Babe_ ,” Jack teased. “Why don't you guys let me in on the joke?”

 

Geoff opened and closed his mouth like a gaping fish before he perked up and took out his phone. He noisily typed out a message and hit send with a proud grin. Jack's own phone chimed. He picked it up, scanned over it, then scoffed lightly with a playful smile. “A bunny buttplug? Really?”

 

“Jack!” Ray groaned in defeat, flipping up his hood to hide his blushing face.

 

o0o

 

Ray got ready to leave at the end of the day and realized his boyfriend had ducked out while he'd been wrapping up his editing. “Dude, can I catch a ride?”

 

Michael nodded. “You're lucky I want to be an independent Omega, man. Having my own personal chauffeur like Gav does is pretty tempting.”

 

Geoff flipped him off without even looking over, still neck deep in his own project.

 

Out in the parking lot, the younger Omega trailed behind his friend and mulled over which video game he'd be working on tonight. He wanted to boost his score up a thousand and there was nothing like a little speed run to work up an appetite for Chinese.

 

There was movement in the corner of his eye before he was snagged around the waist. His bookbag heaved and he pressed chest to chest with his Alpha who smelled like warm, buttery heaven. Ray took a big huff of the man's scent but the sound cut off when pair of lips slanted across his own.

 

“Ryan,” Ray murmured into the kiss, smiling at the way the man cradled his hips to hold him close. He hugged him back, fingers sliding along Ryan's nape and the waves of his hair. He wanted to say he'd thought Ryan had left, that he hadn't expected to see him and that he was hungry, but he was enjoying the loving contact. _Fucking good kisser._

 

Ryan broke away with a warm smile. “Ready to go get some dinner, bun?”

 

Ray burned beet red and gaped at Ryan, his boyfriend freezing as he realized what he'd just said. They stared at one another in mild shock. Ryan didn't let him go (he actually tightened his grip) but he did look down at the ground. “Sorry, that was stupid. I know the guys have been teasing you. I shouldn't have said anything and I really shouldn't have called you that.”

 

“Rye?” Ray tilted his head up and stole a chaste kiss, hating how his boyfriend's face crumpled in relief. “Do you really think I would have let that fester all day? That if that shit had bothered me I wouldn't have immediately pulled you aside and talked to you? You or Geoff or the Lads? Seriously?”

 

Ryan faltered and it only made him smile more.

 

“Dude, come on, I wouldn't treat you like that,” Ray promised as he drummed his fingertips across the Alpha's strong jaw. “I don't care. About you telling Geoff or the dumb nickname.”

 

Ryan couldn't stop chewing on his lip and the Omega had to tap his thumb on his mouth to get him to stop. “Sorry.”

 

“You're fine.” Ray kissed the bruised lip like a little apology of his own. “So did you say something about food?”

 

o0o

 

Ray ended up spending the night at Ryan's house snuggled up in his thick blankets and sinking into the expensive mattress. Though he liked his own bed just fine, Ryan's felt like a treat. He had adult sheets and pillow cases that felt super soft and everything was stuffed well, nothing like his own cheap sheets and worn out pillows.

 

Ryan was always up first, catching a shower so he could cook them some kind of breakfast while Ray got his own (or to get ready so they could leave right after to pick up something on the way to work). The older man kissed Ray's shoulder before he rolled out of bed to get clean. Ray was trying to catch a few more minutes of sleep when Ryan's cell started to go off.

 

The boy grumbled and rolled over, slapping blindly at it before catching hold. Half asleep and blind, he fumbled to unlock it and saw that it was Geoff calling. Then it stopped.

 

“Fucker,” Ray grumbled as he tried to go through the recent contacts, planning to call his boss back and yell at him for being impatient. And then he saw the name next to his own phone number. _Bun_. He double checked the picture in the contact and it was just one of him in Ryan's hoodie, the material billowing at the chest and shoulders but even he could admit it was kind of a nice picture of him.

 

“Ryan!” Ray tossed the phone to the side and buried his blushing face into the sheets. “You motherfucker! You fucking sap, Jesus Christ.”

 

 

 

 

 


	74. Ray and Sex Toys - Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ray gets down with some serious toys and he finds out what he likes, what he doesn't like - and most of all he realizes that a warm Alpha is better than any cold toy. Ryan realizes that too. They need the sexy times, is what I am saying here .
> 
> (Warning: Ray gets hurt a little in this, and he gets into a bad headspace, and lots of toys are used. It might stress you if you have bad feelings reading about someone getting tripped into a negative headspace.)

Date nights were rather peaceful, relaxing evenings. Ryan had a house, nice and clean with high ceilings, but Ray's grubby apartment had a young charm to it. They felt relaxed at either place but the Gent was almost ashamed of how much he liked to sprawl in the Omega's scent-soaked bed. This “night” had started earlier than usual. They took off for lunch together and decided just not to go back to the office. Instead, they ditched to see a movie, and when that ended up sucking they left the theater hand in hand, bursting at the seams with laughter. They went to Ray's apartment after and binged on Coke and popcorn, marathoning the Alien series with bouts of Halo or COD in-between. Ryan still wasn't nearly as good as his boyfriend but he was starting to keep up.

 

When they decided to extend their marathon to the Alien vs Predator features, Ryan brought out a book and Ray his DS. They draped quietly over one another on the couch and let the evening fade into night, lashes falling low and yawns creeping past their lips. Ryan fell asleep first, chin to his chest and book still open on his lap. Ray waited nearly half an hour before he slipped from under his mate's arm, putting his book aside and replacing it with the blanket Dan had sent to him so long ago. It was a strangely satisfying sight.

 

But Ray _wanted_ after being saturated in Ryan's warm scent for so long, and he didn't want to ask his mate for anything after such a languid day.

 

Ray crept quietly into his room and shut the door. He went to the closet and raided the box of toys Lindsay had given him, searching for something that would give him some satisfaction. His Omega instincts were starting to buzz, desiring submission to his Alpha and to be put on display. It was a strange, new urge but his cock was plumping up just contemplating it.

 

His fingers closed around a plastic package and the crinkle caught his attention. It was darkened like a lot of the toys, but this one laid flat. He ripped open the package and shook it out into his hand. They were cuffs, bigger than what would be for wrists, stretchy lace material that felt good on his palm. There was a solid plastic bar as well that seemed adjustable, strangely flat on the ends but slanted.

 

Ray took the cuffs onto the bed and fiddled with them, frowning and feeling over the fabric. He considered himself a smart guy - he didn't need to look up anything, he could figure it out. It took a little too long to figure it out but once he did he got a batch of excited butterflies in his belly. He stripped down and tossed all his clothes over the side to the floor. He took the cuffs and latched them around the middle of his thighs, stretching them tight and latched them with a row of strong hooks. He contemplated the extra flap and then realized it covered the line of hooks, pulling and catching with velcro for a seamless aesthetic. Ray moved them around a little until the sockets in the cuffs were on his inner thighs, and from there he realized that this was a spreader bar system.

 

And _that_ thought started to get him wet. The image of him being spread out, on display for his Alpha to admire with roused, hungry growls sent sparks straight to his groin.

 

Ray's cock was a warm weight against his stomach as he slotted the solid bar in one of the grooves, turning it until it clicked into place. He chewed his lower lip and parted his legs, starting to blush as he realized how widely he had to spread himself so the bar could lock with the other thigh. He felt truly exposed, cool air brushing between his cheeks and across his sack, and even threatening to sweep past his slick rim. The Omega was bared to the room but in a good way that heated his blood. He laid out on his back and rested his head on a pillow that still smelled of his mate's shampoo and natural scent.

 

Ray simply breathed for a while, savoring the vulnerable position there alone in his room, only half-heartedly wishing that Ryan would be there to relish the sight of him as well. He slowly ran his hands over his own thighs, petting past hair and supple skin to caress over the lace edges to the thick of the cuffs. He wasn't sure what the material was but it wasn't quite leather, but just as strong. With a little give, and when he tried to close his legs, he found there was a delicious unyieldingness to it but with the undertone of knowing he could probably rip the sockets from their setting if he had to. Ray dipped his fingers in to touch the bar and then further to trace the line of his cock. It was warm against his fingertips, hard with need, but the skin was soft. He fingered the cut head, so little definition in the ridge but still so sensitive. It was smaller, even for an Omega, and he'd spent a lot of time feelings ashamed of it, but as it fit snugly into the curl of his fingers and felt his hole twitch with excitement, he had a strong flicker of pride. He would slide so sweetly between his mate's lips, a nice mouthful to suckle at. Ryan's heavy palm fit so well over it, a protective cradle for his cock, and as he closed his eyes he could still feel it. Being fondled by his mate in front of Dan, those dark eyes burning into him and tan hands groping lovingly over his thighs. Being exposed, just as he was now, sharing himself like he never had before.

 

He replayed that event every night before he went to sleep, falling into dreams smiling and thinking of what it would have been like to go further.

 

Ray's fingers drifted down away from his cock, ignoring the way it beaded precum for attention, and sought his hole. The rim was wet as he dabbed at it and he flushed darkly, _almost_ ashamed of the blatant lust starting to really course through him. He massaged the furl of muscle and keened at how it started to give, every dip against the center growing less shallow. Fresh slick kissed his fingertip and he was getting breathless from the feel of his body opening and the drag against his sensitive walls. He wet his dry lips and gathered slick up on his fingers, getting them coated with breathy moans as he prodded at his hole. Newly dripping fingers wrapped around his cocklet once more to stroke, fondling the tip to make himself squirm. Just along the rim to alight his nerves, to bring goosebumps to his skin. And having his thighs parted so widely, all his hidden parts exposed – it made it ten times better.

 

He wanted to use a spreader bar set like this with Ryan in the future. The back of his hand brushed against the cuff and he frowned a little. Maybe not exactly this kind, it seemed more decorative than anything. With his Alpha he wanted something more _sturdy._ Something Ryan could latch onto his thighs and then seal his mouth shut with a smoldering kiss, flip him onto his hands and knees to use him like a toy. Maybe a strap across his lower back so his Alpha could drag him onto his cock, a handle for his toy. This set up relied on submission – Ray wanted something _solid_ to rely on, a physically reminder that he was under the protection of his Alpha.

 

Maybe a pair to go around his knees instead. Thick leather with firm buckles, put on his back. Ryan would only have to grab the bar and raise his legs up to eat him out. Ray moaned too loudly at the image of his Alpha's sharp smirk as he pushed up his legs with barely any effort, hungry mouth diving between his cheeks to lap over his hole until his body yielded. Slick pouring to be caught by a hot tongue, Ryan drinking him up and groaning deeply in gratification. Licking him open for a thicker treat. Ryan raising up with reddened lips and a wet chin, blonde locks falling in his lust-drunk eyes.

 

Ray choked on his breath before he let out a long whine. “ _Alpha_.”

 

The sound had barely died on his lips before he heard another. Feet on carpet, the creak of floorboards, and right outside his door. A bolt of blind panic sliced through the lust like a knife. Ray struggled to sit up but his muscles were overly warm, useless. He fumbled awkwardly with the bar, trying to get it out of the sockets. His fingers were clumsy, useless, and they couldn't seem to remember which way to turn the bars to pry them loose.

 

The door opened just as he was trying to pull up the sheets to cover himself.

 

Ryan was rubbing his eyes when he walked in – shirt rumpled, jeans already unbuttoned from a need to get comfortable and go to bed. He got a proper look at the room and his mouth dropped open comically, blue eyes rounding out at the sight of his mate. He got a full show of spread thighs and dark curls at the base of a ruddy cock, the tightening swell of his sack, then further down between parted cheeks to get the first view of something he'd only dreamed about. A soaked little Omega hole – a dark, glistening rim that dripped healthy, clear slick. Ryan's throat closed up and his chest swelled with affection, lust, _need_. He knew that if he could get between those obscenely splayed thighs then those drops would thicken, flow more freely, would fill his mouth with sweet musk and make him drunk.

 

A spike of Alpha hormones in the room made Ray whimper and _finally_ he got a good grip on the bar and twisted. It came free and he snapped his legs shut. He could feel his cheeks burning shamefully but he was still panting, cock throbbing that much more from being crushed between his thigh and belly. His Alpha's gaze seared across his skin and he loved it, but it also made him painfully shy all of a sudden.

 

Ryan gaped, dumbfounded after the first wave of arousal, and he struggled to rein it in. He managed to pick his jaw up and clear his throat, averting his eyes like the gentleman he claimed to be. The image was already burned in his mind and he couldn't wait until he was alone to stroke his cock to the fantasy of licking and rutting into that sweet hole, but he wouldn't gawk when Ray was so clearly embarrassed. No matter how gorgeous those thighs were cuffed up and spread, looking like something straight out of a kinky bodice ripper, he wouldn’t make his mate uncomfortable.

 

“It looks like you're enjoying yourself.” He cleared his throat a second time to clear the husk there. “Would you like me to give you a few minutes?”

 

“Shut up!” Ray barked without any heat, more humiliated than anything. Ryan's amused chuckle warmed his heart but killed his boner. He grabbed a pillow and hid himself before pointing to the door. “Get out, asshole.”

 

Ryan made a big show of not looking, putting his palm over his eyes and blindly groping for the doorknob to close the door.

 

o0o

 

Ryan waited patiently in the living room for Ray to get himself together. It was late and there was nothing to watch on cable, his fingers and eyes too tired for another game to occupy his time. Instead he sat idly and smiled to himself, counting his blessings. How lucky he was to have such a gorgeous mate, smart and funny and everything he'd ever dared hope for. A good job, a nice home, a blood family _and_ a work one. A pack.

 

He heard the bedroom door open and an affectionate smile curled his lips when he saw said mate. Ray shuffled over to the couch in a pair of loose boxers a heavy hoody, one of the Alpha's own – a dark red, hood pulled up over a bowed head. Ray sat down on the couch beside him, silent at first, then slowly leaning until he tipped against him. Ryan slipped an arm around him and nosed back the hood until he could drop a kiss in dark hair.

 

“I'm sorry I walked in on you.” He nosed at the soft locks, humming at the sweet scent that clung to them. “I didn't want to ruin that for you, it looked good.”

 

“You didn't ruin anything, I just...” Ray trailed off, huffing slightly. “I'm trying to get ready to be good for you. And I don't want you to see me fumbling trying to be careful.”

 

“Ray,” Ryan breathed out in an almost-chuckle, “You already _are_. You don't have to 'get ready' for me.” He tried to get the Omega to look at him but he was stubborn. “I want you. Just like this. No improvements, no tricks...just _this_. This is everything I want.”

 

Ray felt his throat threaten to close up and he wasn't sure what to say that wouldn't sound trite, or come off flippant. He wasn't good with words at times like this and all he could think to do was tuck himself further under Ryan's arm and bury his face in his chest. He wrapped his own arms around the Gent's waist and just breathed, letting the warmth fill his lungs and settle into him.

 

“I want this too.”

 

“Good,” Ryan pecked his forehead with an obnoxious kiss that made the Gent grin and the Lad crinkle his nose. “Ready to go to bed?”

 

“I think I really am.”

 

o0o0o0o

 

A vibrating cockring.

 

Ray laughed at the sight of it between his fingers. It was bright purple with a butterfly in the silicone, seeming a little small but strangely perfect to fit on his cock. Anything bigger than his Omega dick would probably be uncomfortable slipping into it despite the stretch it had when he pulled at it. But Lindsay had put a little sticky note on this package. _Cheap but you have to try <3_

 

He couldn't really argue with those words.

 

Alone in his apartment this time, Ray stripped down to nothing and crawled onto the middle of his bed. He was getting used to the whole process of trying new toys by now but the anticipation was always fresh. Butterflies in his stomach, cock plumping up at the mere thought of what new sensations he would get to enjoy, to find in these kinds of toys. And he hadn't really gotten started yet, there were still a lot of things to try in the box along with an assortment of flavored lubes and sillier couple things that he wanted to share with Ryan (like edible panties, that one would be fun to laugh over).

 

Ray shuffled to sit on his knees, his dick already interested from a few languid stripes of his hand. He picked up the flamboyant little ring and eyed the bullet inside the silicone. At least, he _thought_ it was. Some kind of tiny device hidden inside with a little button on the inside. Lindsay wasn't wrong, it looked cheap like it would break in one go.

 

“Yolo,” Ray muttered, stretching the ring out around his fingers and sliding it over his dick. He hissed and quickly tore it off, leaning over to grab a packet of lube off the floor. There were a couple packets and a bottle that had made themselves out of the box and they were handy. It was neutral scented but it felt good as he rubbed it along his cock, getting it completely wet before he tried again. The silicone ring popped over the head and he squirmed, a tiny pleased chitter escaping him at the sweet slide down the shaft. It fit snugly at the smooth base where a knot would be if he'd presented that way, the nerves there extra sensitive and starting to buzz at the pressure he let close around it. The Lad winced, unsure if he liked it or not. It was uncomfortable and tight, even with the lube. But he was still hard. A cockring was supposed to stave off orgasms, that was the basic definition, but maybe it would feel to get him close.

 

Ray clicked the button and a yelp tore out of his throat. The vibrations were sudden and jarring, cock visibly jerking and spurting out a thick bead of precum. He hunched forward and slammed his hands down flat on the bed, cock tingling and throbbing too hot to touch. His hips jerked forward and he gave a pitchy keen, the sound almost wild bouncing off the walls. The sound melted down into a weak whimper as he rutted into the air, thighs shaking as the vibration racked its way through his lower belly and bled out to make his muscles seize, to threaten to tremble and give.

 

Ray fumbled at the ring around his cock and thumbed over the button but it didn't click back up no matter how hard he pressed. It was stuck. His eyes started to water and he had to let go.

 

Ray had never felt anything like it. So _tight_ , just the side of too much, and it buzzed against the base of his cock and down to his balls, making his hole twitch. The first shine of slick kissed his rim but it felt forced, painfully good. He looked down as the pressure started to build and saw how red his cock was like he'd been edging for longer than a few minutes. He pried one hand out of the sheet and gingerly wrapped his fingers around it, pumping slowly even as his hips tried to stutter out a faster rhythm. It wasn't a like the usual feeling – there was so little build up, nothing more than a cramping heat and a seize of muscle. He came in a weak dribble of milky cum, the pleasure so sharp it was agony. He humped forward once, _twice_ – thick drops falling on the bed. His cock was twitching in harsh spasms as he tried to ride out the remainder of his orgasm by rutting into the air. To have nothing soft around his cock, just the ring, added sharp spikes that sent him cooing for an Alpha - _Ryan -_ for relief.

 

He grabbed at the toy and rolled it off his half-hard cock, groaning at the relief and raw pleasure that stung through him. It was tossed aside and buzzed on the carpet as he dragged a pillow over his groin. The case was cool against his aching length and he gave a whining sigh. He shivered and panted and rubbed himself against the soft material. Little by little the tingling stopped until he just slumped into the bed. He was spent and suddenly tired like he'd been running around all day instead of relaxing on a Saturday.

 

Ray decided that once he could sit up again he was going to text Lindsay an all-caps _fuck you._

 

o0o

 

“Can't believe it.”

 

Ray laughed, arms tucked behind his head and legs draped over his mate's lap. They were hanging out on the couch while the others were out at lunch. The door was shut but they still talked in low voices about Ray's adventures the other night. The Alpha was red cheeked and petting along his mate's bare calf, listening much too intently with a slight bulge in his jeans. It was a nice simmer of arousal that could be tapered off before the others got back and he enjoyed the buzz, they both did.

 

“A ring is supposed to keep off an orgasm, to make it better because it's delayed, so all of it builds up,” Ryan explained, though Ray already knew that. “And one that vibrates – I can't even imagine.”

 

“Yeah, it wasn't exactly something I'd want a repeat performance of.”

 

“Well, you didn't know what you were doing. It's not your fault,” Ryan soothed, fingers scratching idly through the hair on his mate's calf. “Next time I should be there. I've used them with partners before. They can be useful when your partner is overeager.” He playfully pinched the Omega's leg and made him kick a little. “They're good, really. There's just no reason to use them alone and vibrating ones are too much too soon.”

 

“Have you ever wore one?” Ryan nodded. “Did you like it?” The Gent's smirk was heated. “Spare me the details. You probably had a kickass time. I kind of fucked it up, I think.”

 

Ryan's brows furrowed up. “What _exactly_ happened?”

 

Ray grinned and started the story again but in more detail, emphasizing how wet and flushed his cock had been and how tight the ring had clung to him. He watched his mate's cheeks go from a pleased pink to a dark, shameful red as he was sure his thoughts turned a little more heated. “It kind of hurt at the end but still humped the pillow like a fucking kid at the end.” _Like a good bun._ “It was embarrassing as fuck.”

 

“I bet you were beautiful,” Ryan rumbled lowly.

Ray hated the shy chitter that escaped him, a natural response to his Alpha's sound “It's too early to be drunk, Rye. I looked stupid. I know I did.”

 

Ryan snagged a handful of his hoody and dragged him up until he sat sideways in his lap. He nipped below the Lad's ear and nosed at his hair, scenting lightly. Ray was thankful they were alone because he let out a sound akin to a mewl and tipped his head back, submitting so that the man could growl very quietly and nibble a little harder to make a trail of red marks. Ryan's arm curled around him and brought him in as close as they could get, chapped lips tickling his jaw before he spoke.

 

“You should ask me about toys before you use them.” Ryan's breath washed over him, fingers digging in just a little through layers of hoody and denim. The blonde paused before gently butting his head against the Omega's own, making him grunt at being treated like a pup.

 

“That's possessive and weird,” Ray grunted, a tease with no heat.

 

“I didn't mean it like that. I just want to make sure you don't hurt yourself. I want these all to be good experiences.” It was starting to turn into a nervous ramble and Ray cut it off with a brief kiss.

 

“I know,” Ray promised, their noses brushing. “You're not trying to control me like a knothead. My body belongs to me and stuff. You worry too much, old man.”

 

Ryan sighed in relief and pet over the Lad's lower back. “I worry just enough.”

 

“Besides.” Ray patted his cheek, stomach feeling a little fluttery with anticipation. “Lindsay gave me that box for _us_.”

 

That smirk came back and those same fluttery feelings grew tenfold. “I hardly need a box of toys to get you off.”

 

“Promises,” Ray chuckled, thumb grazing over the man's lower lip and remembering just how good his tongue felt between his cheeks. Ryan took his hand and kissed it properly along the palm, down to the inner wrist where he licked lightly.

 

Another rumble kicked up before he spoke in a throaty tone that made the Omega shiver.

“You can't tell me this mouth hasn't made you happier than your toys?”

 

Ray choked on his own spit and the office door was thrown open.

 

“We've got wings, bitches!” Michael announced, grinning when he saw and smelled the couple. “Oh shit. You guys need a condom? I think Gav's got some lube in his desk.”

 

Ryan dropped his head against Ray's shoulder and laughed, turned on and red-eared and jumping with belly chuckles. Ray slung a protective arm over him and decided that this was the best job in the world.

 

“Fuck you guys.”

 

“Then I'll keep your wings.”

 

“Dude.”

o0o0o0o

 

To **TheBoyfriendGuy**

_Do you know what kind of blue this is?_

 

Ray sent the cheeky text along with a picture of the freshly opened toy. It was a slim blue vibe, only four and a half inches long and a little bigger round than his finger. He wasn’t exactly sure how it was supposed to get him off but the ripped packaging said “best for beginners” and he wasn’t going to argue. It didn’t have very much definition except for a little curve at the end to apparently better stimulate the prostate. He wasn’t exactly sure where that was inside him but he had doubts this thing would find it. His phone buzzed.

 

From **TheBoyfriendGuy**  
_Is that the next one you’re going to try?_

 

To **TheBoyfriendGuy**

_Yeah_

 

From **TheBoyfriendGuy**

_Put your fingers around it._

To **TheBoyfriendGuy**

_Perv_

 

From **TheBoyfriendGuy**

_FOR A SIZE COMPARISON!_

 

Ray snickered and did his best to wrap his hand around the toy in a way that would show how big it was. It took a few times but eventually he got the right angle and sent it. It wasn’t really that big, not even as wide as two of his fingers put together. Definitely smaller than what Ryan would would have to use on him.

 

From **TheBoyfriendGuy**

_That looks small enough. Use lube and have fun_

 

Ray grinned when he thought of how much restraint it took his mate not to add a winky face or to offer to come watch. He wanted to get Ryan involved soon but not until he felt more comfortable by himself. He’d talked to Lindsay about it and she said there were two roads to go with it - to keep letting Ryan teach him everything, or to learn the basics on his own and do some “exploring” without fumbling too much. He was going solo.

 

Ray dragged his laptop up onto the bed. While he booted up he stripped down. He wasn't exactly proud of the file he had on his computer but he'd been bored one day at the office and the “Mad King” daydreams had kicked up. It hadn't been too hard, he had most of the raw footage, all he had to do was tweak it so that Ryan's audio levels were upped while the rest were lowered and layered behind. It was almost thirty minutes of Ryan's deep voice, bouncing between laughter and rumbling commands (playful, but still firm).

 

He clicked on it and let the audio play, low at first. He picked up the bottle of lube he'd brought into bed and shook it, letting Ryan's laugh wash over him. His stomach started to tingle as he popped the cap and the smell of artificial cherries filled the air. It was kind of on the sweet side but it felt good on his fingers. He closed his eyes and stroked over his stiffening cock, teasing it into interest. He let his mind wander, as it often did when he was doing stuff like this. A sweep of blonde hair, lightly calloused fingers trailing along his jaw or across his hip, the gentle inhale of being scented, the hot lap of his mate's tongue against his hole and along his throat and over his thighs...

 

Ray turned up the volume before leaning back to lay on the pillows, eyes still shut as he fumbled with the vibrator. He slicked it up and the stiffness of the toy wasn't exactly reassuring. His brow pinched up as he parted his legs. He still wasn't comfortable exposing himself to the air, even if it was just alone like this. The spreader bar had given him a comfort but there was still some courage to earn before he could present like this for his mate.

 

The base of the toy was a disguised twist knob that increased the vibration as it was turned. When he’d put the batteries in he’d given it a try and it had worked well enough. He hadn’t exactly concentrated on how powerful the vibrations were when the toy was buzzing against his palm. The cool, slick tip pressed to the center of his hole and Ray was unsure what to do next. _Do I turn it on and then put it inside? Do I wait?_ He hadn’t looked it up before this and he considered texting Ryan but he was already in the thick of things. He decided to go on instinct and twisted the base.

 

Ray yelped and jerked so badly the bed shook, laptop wobbling wildly. The sudden vibration was sharp on his sensitive rim and he yanked it away, the toy buzzing in his hand as he tried to calm down. He did his best to relax again into the pillows and turn it off, fingers and hole still tingling as he tentatively parted his legs again and eased the toy back down. The wet, blunt tip pressed against his nervous rim again and he tried to breathe, other hand toying with the head of his cock as he kept his eyes closed and listened to Ryan’s voice. The timber, the gravelly laugh, the high and low pitches and the Alpha rumble underneath. He loved that voice in his ear, lips against his skin as he spoke words full of adoration.

 

With words like “king” and “sire” being thrown around, even with the others voices turned down, Ray started to drift. He knew his royal fantasies were just a hybrid of too much Minecraft and _Game of Thrones_ and not enough sex, but they were some of his favorites. Always tempting him during his more dull hours with bolts of silk and a gleaming, branching crown like horns - the promise of buttery leather against his skin, and a king to ravish him.

 

Ray keened as he slowly slid the toy inside, natural slick and lube easing the way just half an inch at a time as a red velvet veil fell over his mind. The first wave of pleasure hit him as he started to squeeze down on the toy like he had his own fingers and his mind was flooded with pictures, like flipping pages in a book. Ryan's brow touched by a crown, the glisten of dew speckled roses, a bed of silk and furs, stone halls with little nooks and crannies, tan flesh against pale muscle, slick between his own cheeks before a fat cock filled him, and a heavy knot to make him scream. He'd indulged deeply in simple fantasies, being taken in rich soil meant for roses, the king's generous mouth sucking him off in front of the fire upon wolf furs, rolling with His Highness upon a large bed and getting the royal treatment.

 

His breath started to come in noisy hitches as the toy slid in further, growing no bigger but touching more deeply. He turned his head into the pillow and whined as his imagination weaved together an image of a hunt. Leather boots and minor finery on the “Mad King” and him in nothing but some peasant garb, a tunic and roughspun pants like a classic servant. The king giving chase to him, catching him and dragging him into a small tower chamber no bigger than his own bedroom. Manhandling him across the stone, a velvety laugh ringing in his ears before he's thrown up against a high window. Stained glass, _yes_ , a hundred colors raining down upon them. Ryan would smirk and pin him like a butterfly against the artfully painted glass and he'd wince at the chill of it through his thin clothes. Then he'd demand Ray show himself, to open up his shirt and unlace his breeches, spread open just a little to give him something sweet to look at.

 

“ _Something to warm me in the chill of the night.”_

 

Ray slowly turned the dial on the vibe once it was just a few inches in and his hips jumped, knocking the toy around a little and making him clench all the harder. It was difficult to keep the toy inside. His body wasn't listening and kept bearing down on it, forcing it out no matter how firmly he pressed it within. He seemed too small, too tight to keep it in, and he was glad he'd feel good for Ryan but now he just wanted it _inside_. The soft vibrations made him shiver and he bounced the toy lightly, a constant stream of little sounds pouring out of him as the sensations went all through his hips. His cock leaked a dense bead of precum. He vaguely remembered last time when he'd ended up smearing jizz all over his forearms and shoulders from collapsing into the bed on a wet spot. He wouldn't make that mistake again.

 

But all those thoughts faded out when the fantasy came crashing back. The pleasant feeling of vibration and being filled a little more than he was used to became background noise, something to flush blood through him in hot pulses and to make him throb. Behind his lids there was a perfect image of a musty room washed in a rainbow of color and a handsome face staring at him as if he were everything. The fantasy got so strong he thought he could feel it – Ryan's lips across his chest, tongue and fingertips flicking over his nipples, groping him, sliding a hand down past his lacings to cup his cock. A strong hand to rub at him while his clever mouth nipped skin until it reddened and swelled all ripe and rosy.

 

Ray hissed through his teeth and pulled the toy out. It kept knocking him the wrong way, the curve at the end poking at everything but his prostate. He'd touched it before, had pressed against the gland, and the toy wasn't cutting it. The device was unyielding, plastic and hard, and every time it rubbed him wrong it kicked him out of his sweet fantasy.

 

Instead, he turned it off and tossed it aside. He gripped his needy cock and threw the other arm over his eyes, blocking out the light and letting him sink harder into the imaginary feel of his phantom partner. It didn't take long to spill with the Mad King whispering filthy promises of a crown and an heir in his ear.

 

Still striped in cum, he managed to sit up long enough to click out of the edited video.

 

Ray hated that the pleasant after-buzz was cut short by the little aches left behind by the dumb toy. He should have known it was too hard, that he needed something squishy, but at least it was an experience. Now he knew.

 

He washed up and got in new, comfortable clothes before padding out to the living room for a round of COD. He'd just plopped down on the couch when his phone buzzed in pocket. He'd forgotten about the real Ryan for a second and he felt a little embarrassed. It'd been almost thirty minutes.

 

From **TheBoyfriendGuy**

_It's powder blue_

 

Ray snorted to himself. Of course Ryan would know that.

 

To **TheBoyfriendGuy**

_Gaylord_

 

From **TheBoyfriendGuy**

_You literally just fucked yourself with plastic_

 

To **TheBoyfriendGuy**

_you WISH it was your dick_

 

From **TheBoyfriendGuy**

_...true..._

 

To **TheBoyfriendGuy**

_Nice use of ellipses_

 

From **TheBoyfriendGuy**

_I like the dramatic effect_

 

Ray scrubbed a hand over his face and wondered just what Ryan would think of the little tryst he'd cooked up to get off not ten minutes ago.  

 

o0o0o0o

 

“Ah, _ah_.”

 

Silicone was much more friendly, and the package had claimed it was one of the most affordable prostate massagers on the market. Four and a half inches like the last one, jet black with a ringed handle that fit well in the curve of his fingers. It had to be charged for a while in the wall but now it was performing beautifully. It pulsed - soft throbs of vibration inside him that made his hole twitch and slick bubble up around the toy in thin drops. The hum it made was almost soothing. It was curved more gently than the other toy and felt much better against him, giving more when he clenched down on it.

 

With a free evening, Ray had spent most of it in bed taking it slow. He had been tired when he started so he’d taken his time, running his fingers over his thighs and along his soft cock, cupping his balls and rolling them in his palm, going lower and dragging his thumb along the sensitive skin behind them. He’d danced his fingertips along his inner thighs and eventually dipped down to massage the tight rim between his cheeks, chittering submissively as the muscle yielded under his own touch. Slick started to come after he’d pawed at his cock for a while, the other hand busy thumbing curiously at his nipples. They were more sensitive since he’d presented as an Omega and Ryan never missed a chance to touch them, through layers at work or bare at home it didn’t matter.

 

It was who he thought of now.

 

“Ryan…” The name felt so good uncurling off his tongue, smooth and rounded out.

 

Ray teased himself with the toy, heels dug into the sheets so that he could arch up into each languid thrust and angle his hips just right. He’d found the spot forever ago and was testing himself, pressing the toy’s wet tip hard over the hidden gland inside him until he couldn’t stand it anymore and returning to a more shallow pace. Every slow drag against his prostate brought out sweet, Omegan cries of pleasure that would have brought any Alpha running to scent and lick. He was cruel to himself, abusing the swollen gland until his eyes felt hot with unshed tears and his back bowed before letting off to give himself a moment to breathe.

 

“Fuck,” he whined as he nearly let himself topple over the edge, dick hardly touched. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been grinding against all those good spots but he felt ready to boil over any moment. His lips were raw from being chewed on and his thighs felt like jello but he was on _fire_. The only thing that would make it better was his Alpha. He wanted the Gent there so badly, stripped down and panting and just as ruined as Ray himself felt. He wanted his hips on Ryan’s lap, thighs clutching the Alpha’s waist as he was slowly fucked into. He didn’t know exactly what his mate’s dick looked like but he could imagine it had a thick head that would scrap deliciously with each thrust.

 

Ray could see it so easily - Ryan puffing with slow, controlled, rolling thrusts that made his thighs bunch up. His own knees hooked in the crook of his mate’s arms, keeping him open and letting him feel every inch. Both of them sweating and straining for each other and taking a whole fucking evening just to catch up on everything they’d been missing out on for months.

 

He switched hands and more easily striped a tight fist over his cock, pushing the toy in at the perfect angle. The sound he made was entirely Omega and when he coated his hand in cum it was Ryan’s heated stare he saw

 

o0o

 

“So, there's this new toy I want to try out.”

 

Ryan hummed sleepily and kept his eyes on the traffic. He rarely _needed_ a cup of coffee but now it was the only thing he could think about. But the prospect of his mate exploring more of himself with some of Lindsay's gift (which she wouldn't tell him exactly everything she'd bought, no matter how many candy bars he plied her with) was an intriguing one. He glanced over to see the Omega was a little red around the ears. “What kind of toy?

 

“It's an actual...like, dildo.” Ray had never had trouble with the word before but now that it applied to him it felt kind of awkward. “It's the size I'm used to now, about as big as that kickass button-presser. Holy fuck, that thing is awesome.”

 

Ryan chuckled, feeling a little tingle of heat in his belly as he remembered his mate's story of the pulsing prostate massager. “Oh?”

 

“Except it has a knot,” Ray dropped it, fiddling with his phone to bring up the picture he'd taken. “But it's small too. They call it a 'training size'. I wanted to ask your permission or whatever, just 'cause I know you didn't want me to take too much.”

 

At the first red light, Ryan held out his hand for the phone. Ray passed it out and waited a little nervously. He know he didn't _need_ his Alphas permission but he respected his opinion. The picture was of Ray's hand spread out on his bed with the toy beside it along with a plastic syringe. The dildo was a semitransparent blue with a small knot near the base, curved well to find the prostate with a slight head that wouldn't scrape too hard.

 

“What's the syringe for?” Ryan inquired as he passed the phone back.

 

“That's part of why I'm asking.” The Omega squirmed uncomfortably, sinking down into the seat. “It kind of comes with, uh...fake jizz? You kind of warm it up and fill up the syringe and then you just sort of squirt it up in there.”

 

Ryan hummed thoughtfully.

 

“I want to do a lot of my first stuff with you, but since this toy is small and I can control how much jizz there is...I don't know, I thought it'd be a small practice run to get me more comfortable.” He pushed up his glasses. “We can try it together later, but I kind of want to do it by myself the first time.”

 

“So it's synthetic lube?”

 

“Fake jizz.”

 

“I want to do some research on it first,” Ryan stated firmly, brain still whirring with the idea of his mate taking something fake like that. But this was a modern time, his Omega wanted to make himself comfortable with new pleasure and he didn't want to deny him that. He liked the idea, he really did, but he just wanted to make sure Ray wasn't hurting himself. He pushed down his selfish need and shot his mate a smirk. “So you want to be bred?”

 

Ray made a high pitched noise and it had the Alpha chuckle. “That's pretty kinky for you, Ray.”

 

“Hey, what can I say? You're turning me into a deviant.”

 

“Do _not_ even blame me for you liking fake cum. That's a _you_ thing.”

 

“Bullshit. It’s now technically an _us_ thing.”

 

Ray dragged a hand down his face in mortification. “What the hell am I even doing in a relationship with a total fucking nutcase?”

 

“Ray,” Ryan stated in a semi-serious matter. “It’s too early to be roleplaying Grand Theft Auto. That’s to be discussed at another time.”

 

“I am not roleplaying GTA with you!”

 

“Well, you say that _now_.” Eyebrows waggled at him. “Wait till you see my mask.”

 

o0o

 

It was a normal lunch at a quiet diner. Ryan was on his phone, glasses perched on his nose. They ate slow and enjoyed each other's company, forks scraping lightly against plates. And then the Gent started talking, and the younger got red around the ears.

 

“Polyethylene Oxide, Titanium Dioxide, Potassium Sorbate, Citric Acid with pH adjustment, vitamin D, Omega fatty acids,” Ryan listed with a small smile. “Harmless, and semi-nutritional. This seems to be made with Omegas in mind. And there's barely a puppy knot on that toy.”

 

Ray cleared his throat a little. “So you think it'd be good to use?”

 

“I think it's going to feel good,” Ryan drawled as he slid his glasses up into his hair. “Am I going to get another picture, bun?”

 

“That's going to haunt me for the rest of our life,” Ray snarked, though there was a warmth in his stomach. “I might. If you're lucky.”

 

o0o

 

Ray spent the evening after work sitting around in nothing but his boxers and playing Halo with strangers. He didn't bother with a headset. It wasn't exactly his best effort because the anticipation was filling his stomach with butterflies. Every time there was a pause he'd palm himself through his clothes. He'd been half hard for nearly two hours. The second he felt himself start to slick he decided to sign off and head to the bedroom.

 

He grabbed the normal lube, his phone, a heat pack the fake jizz, and the toy. He wiggled out of his shorts and plopped on the bed, dumping his treasure beside him. The room was dark except for the light through the blinds from the parking lot. He cracked the heating pad and shook it, letting it heat up. He filled the fake syringe with the milky, fake seed and let it lay under the heated pack. The toy had a hollow tube that fed into the base of the tube and the end of the length fit very snugly over the tip of the syringe. He let it all sit between his legs. Once he was prepped, he flopped onto the pillow.

 

Ray took long, calming breaths and let his hands roam. His fingers trailed down past his throat to the cradle of his collarbone, over his chest to tease lightly at his nipples until they got stiff. He dug his thumbnail into the peak of one and sighed, the sensation shooting down his stomach to settle in his groin. Fingernails raked along his stomach to leave red stripes behind, goosebumps cropping up all over.

 

By the time he reached his cock, it was already awake and ready to play.

 

He spent time rubbing over his thighs and along his soft sack, touching all the new sensitive spots that presenting had given him. The insides of his thighs, when stroked, brought shivers. Before he could just jerk it and be done but now he wanted to touch more before getting to the main event. He chuckled to the empty room about how juvenile his thoughts still were when it came to jerking off, cock starting to thicken up and strain up towards his stomach.

 

The room filled with soft moans and curses as he pumped himself and let his legs naturally fall open. His hole flexed with every thrust up into his fist, no slick at first but then a glisten. A drop swelled and trickled down into the sheets. Two more bubbled up, healthy and clear and sweet smelling, rolling across tan skin.

 

Hard and a little shaky, Ray was panting as he grabbed the regular lube and squirted a heavy dollop in his palm.

 

 _This is the easy part_. He told himself as he lubed up the dildo, a small thing really in comparison to what he'd seen taken in Omega porn. The tip was slippery but firm against his hole. He fumbled a little, spreading his legs and keeping a firm fist around it despite the wet glide of lube. He wanted it – _fucking shit_ , he wanted it so bad. The head teased along his rim and it made him that much more hungry. He popped it inside and the stretch was perfect.

 

Ray eased it in carefully and it wasn't much different than his prostate massager, just more rounded out. Dark brows twitched and furrowed up as one inch at a time eased inside, pressing him open, rubbing against his walls and making his cock throb nicely. It was almost touching his stomach now, refusing to flag even with the ache of getting stretched. A little pain kept him on edge and it meant he wouldn't shoot like a kid just from having something up his butt for a few seconds.

 

_Nice and easy, just like the other toys._

 

Ray kept a slow pace, breathing out moans and listening to the obscene sound of the toy pulling out and sliding back in. It was hard to keep the toy inside very long. No matter how much he relaxed, his hole tightened up and tried to bounce it back out. He whined and started shifting his hips, panting noisily as he lost himself in the rhythm and heat of getting fucked. He never thought it would feel so good. Raw, but no tearing, no threat of hurting himself. The lube would've dried out by now, it had happened on that first vibe, but he was so wet now it didn't matter. He fiddled almost idly with his cock, rubbing the thumb over the head in a clumsy attempt with his left hand while the other drove the toy into him.

 

It was kind of a struggle. For all his gameplay skills he was horribly uncoordinated and it was almost frustrating. He couldn't pump his cock as much as he needed and he couldn't angle the toy how he wanted. He was dripping and buzzing in pleasure, but not enough to push him over. He tried for as long as he could take but eventually the ache in his cock was going beyond pleasure. He had to let it go with a huff, cocking his hips up and getting a last few good presses against his sweet spot

 

_I'll just..._

 

He groped around for the syringe still under the heat pack and broke out into a grin when he found it. Anticipation was sweet and intoxicating in his gut, churning up more flutters of heat. He thumbed over the plunger and wiggled the toy in just a little more, knot kissing his rim. It felt bigger than it looked and the Omega keened as the swell met his hole and made it widen. Slick made it easier to let the natural swell of the puppy knot drag past his resistant muscle and _pop_ inside. He felt himself close around the more narrow space between the base and the knot. It didn’t feel too different from the shaft, a bit wider, but there was no heaviness like real knots possessed. The sensation was new and kind of thrilling, a strange ache that he could easily get addicted to. He imagined it fatter, pushing him to his limits - but if he couldn’t have that, then he could at least enjoy the warm splash of seed he’d read about in Omega porn. They were always so adamant about the sensation and he’d been curious since the first time he’d heard it described.  

 

Ray moved the toy until he was as comfortable as he could be stuffed so full. The feeling was familiar enough that he could stay hard, still wanting, and once he was sure it was all in place he thumbed down the plunger. Soft at first so it felt like a warm ooze, but he quickly found it wasn’t enough. Instead he put the plunger against his thigh and pushed _hard_. Dark eyes fluttered open wide and high-pitched, breathy half-squeals left the Omega as “seed” splashed deep up inside him. He could feel it coat his walls, going much farther than the toy.

 

He thought of his Alpha, his buttery, spiced-hearth scent - of being branded with that scent. _Ryan_ spilling inside him, kissing wetly as his neck and rumbling his possession, pressed flush and finally claiming him in every way. Ryan’s whole world narrowed down to Ray - his body, his vanilla scent, all of his Alpha focused on _him_ and _him_ alone. The full rush of warmth only amplified the fantasy ten-fold.

 

Ray let go of the toy and his body bore down, squeezing it tight and forcing it to leave with another wet _pop_. Even the knot. It stretched him wide for only a moment, though, just a second where he thought he wouldn’t be able to take it. The Omegan cry that escaped him was pitchy, a yowl for an Alpha’s relief. There was a messy gush past his rim and he choked on the sound, hand wrapping tight around his cock. He stroked himself pretending it was his mate’s load dripping so thickly out of him, to the thought of Ryan watching and fondling his knot as the flush, fat end of his cock still dripping lazily from pumping him full.

 

Ray felt his chest seize up in a chokingly good way, tension strapping through his muscles and making them bunch up. He made a sound in the back of his throat and his hips pushed up off the bed. Thin, hot seed pumped over his fingers and a potent wave washed over him, every inch of him buzzing and skin prickling as it crashed. The tightness in his throat gave and a long, low groan of pure satisfaction rolled out of him.

 

He slumped onto the bed and panted, a grin splitting his lips. He was warm all over and wet with sweat and cum from between his thighs to over his heaving belly.

 

Ray spent a few long minutes simply laying there, breathing and enjoying the intense hum from the new kind of pleasure. He swiped his left hand over the sheet to wipe away the lube before grabbing his phone. Even without glasses and kind of shaking, the Omega managed to bring up his mate’s messages. He set the camera up and let himself think over the perfect picture. Fingers crept between his legs and swiped heavily over his hole, gathering the fake-cum to bring it up and get a good shot. The milky liquid dripped off his digits and spilled over his thigh and belly but he left it, grinning in dazed joy of how strangely _good_ he looked. He wasn’t one to find himself hot but he couldn’t deny it looked strangely similar to a picture straight out of an Alpha Playboy. From this angle he could see how his thighs and belly glistened, the softening length of his cock laying in dark curls, and his fingers looking like they had just been on an Alpha.

 

He snapped a few pics and mulled over them before sending the best. The phone dropped onto the bed and his lashes fell low, exhaustion creeping through his gut and up into his chest. He’d clean up, he just needed to rest his eyes a few minutes…

 

 _I can’t believe I did that. Fucking felt so good._ In the near-dark, his lips curled into a blissful smile. _It’s going to feel so much better with Ryan. Holy shit._

 

o0o

 

 _I have to stop staying up so late_ , Ryan scolded himself as he brushed his teeth in front of the bathroom mirror. His eyes were strained from reading off his laptop as he took apart his old stereo. He’d been hoping for salvageable parts but he’d have to look again in the morning, he was too groggy to properly decipher all the pieces. He scratched at his belly under the thin t-shirt and the line of his sweats rode down a little more, toothbrush swishing noisily and drowning out his yawn. Then his phone buzzed in his pocket.

 

Ryan yawned again and fished the device out of his pocket, thumbing open the lock and blinking down at the message. _I used that cumtoy. Works like a dream, dude B)_

 

Then the picture loaded. _Wish it was you, Alpha_

 

The toothbrush dropped out of his mouth with a loud, messy clatter and he barely kept himself from spitting foam all over the sink. The picture was perfection in every sense. Ray’s soft fingers were streaked in white, the synthetic seed dripping thick down them. He could see one of his boy’s pretty thighs shining, streaked and maybe a little sweaty. Oh, and that Omega cock. Small and soft and soaked, laying all pretty there like a treat to be suckled.

 

_His hole must be soaked._

 

Ryan leaned heavily against the counter, head swimming from the heavy rush of blood to his cock. He wheezed out a breath and his pupils blew out under the completely wash of lust. That was _his_ mate all pretty and wet. Wrecked by a toy. _That should’ve been me._

 

He hastily shoved down his sweats with a growl and fisted his cock with an angry scowl, still holding his phone. He couldn’t look away, not for a second. He striped almost painfully across his swelling cock and wondered why he was such an idiot gentleman. He could’ve had his mate in his bed _right now_ if he had the balls to take the last step. Ray had subtly pushed for them to go further, and had openly admitted in the late hours that the Alpha was always invited during those playtimes  if he wanted. He could still hear his stupid response.

 

_“No, sweetheart, those times are for you. I’ll get my time soon.”_

 

 _My time should have been now._ He believed himself to be an idiot for ever telling Ray that he would wait. Now he was being tortured for it, forcing to look at a wondrous picture with a pretty, small Omega trying to hang off of a fake knot. It should have been his and only his knot that was being squeezed with those clenching, wet walls.Ryan pushed that pure-Alpha thought away. _No, he needs this. He deserves to figure himself out alone. When he wants me, really wants me, he’ll ask._

 

Until then, this was all he had. Pictures and his own fist. That would have to do until he strapped his balls on and let them go farther than rutting and touching.

 

o0o0o0o

 

When Ray came to him with a real knotting toy, Ryan tried not to panic. He inspected it himself, read the instructions, and after he went over each twice he had to admit it was a safe choice. They were at Ray’s apartment and he didn’t look up from his phone as he read over some of the online reviews. His Omega’s nervous chitter finally got him to yield.

 

“How big is it...compared to you?”

 

Ryan expected the question and he checked the package one more time. He didn’t exactly measure himself but he had a good idea. “Smaller. The knot and the rest of it. This thing is five inches.”

 

“I’m comfortable with that,” Ray stated as he munched up another salty handful of popcorn. “I don’t want anything bigger until it’s the real thing. But this knot is bigger than the one on the other toy I used. That one was super tiny. This is like a realistic size for a below-average Alpha right?”

 

Ryan shoved his knuckle between his teeth and tried not to grin. It wasn’t funny, but looking at the knot reminded him of someone. “Actually, if you can remember...this is about the size of Dan. If Michael had a knot, I’d put money that this toy would be a carbon copy of what he’d look like.”

 

The way Ryan waggled his eyebrows made the Omega laugh, but there was a warm blush starting at the tips of his ears and slowly creeping along the sweep of his cheekbones.

 

“Any tips, Rye?”

 

“Lube,” Ryan stated, flipping the box over again. “Even if you think you’re slick enough, just use more, okay?” The Lad nodded. “And go slow. I know you’re getting more practiced with this stuff but you never know when you’re body will get nervous. Omegas can stop slicking for a lot of reasons, some of them they’re not even conscious of.”

 

Ray rolled his eyes. “Lube is good. I get it.”

 

“And?” he prompted.

 

“Go slow. Yeah, yeah.”

 

o0o

 

“Ah, ah, _fuck_!”

 

Ray gave a sharp, Omegan whine and flushed at how sloppy he sounded as he fucked himself with the toy at a fast, brutal pace that made his hole ache and tears catch in his lashes. It was intense but he felt so needy, so wanting of a knot, and he’d gotten over eager with it. It was just a half inch bigger than his favored massager but it wasn’t too different. He didn’t take it to the hilt, not yet, but he was slowly slipping into a new headspace as he imagined his Alpha there. He had grinned to himself and pretended like he was putting on a show for Ryan, growing all hot and squirming on the bed as he slowly filled himself.

 

Now, he felt like he was trying too hard, like he wanted to make an Alpha get off from just how much he could take. Ryan’s advice was long gone in the haze of lust and he hadn’t noticed his slick had started to dry up. The smooth, off-color ring of plastic nearly the base was where the knot would swell when the button on the side was pressed and he couldn’t see but it was getting nowhere near his rim. He was too caught up in the intense feeling to realize what he was supposed to be careful, the slight danger that came with being a virgin to stuff like this.

 

Instinct swamped him. Lips were bitten into a dark, painful looking redness and his eyes were glazed, a pure Omega trying to prove himself. He mistook the deep ache for the need for a knot, listening to the wrong signals and letting his mind get overcome with the need to please the imaginary Alpha “watching him.” He slid the toy in deeper with each thrust, panting loudly and scrunching up his eyes as he worked himself up to where he thought the knot was. The thought of that fullness was a siren song and he couldn’t wait a moment longer.

 

Ray stretched his arm and groped at the bottom of the toy, growling softly in frustration when he couldn’t find the bottom. It was smooth like the one on the vibrating cockring and it was difficult to find, but when his finger brushed it he mashed down without a second of hesitation. It hummed for a moment before the knot swelled up, just a small puff before ballooning to its thickest.

 

The Omega’s satisfied moan quickly cut off into a high, sharp whine of pure distress. He’d thought the toy was in deep, that the pressure he’d felt on his hole was just the bottom of the knot - but it was the _middle_. His rim stretched painfully wide around the fattest part of the knot. A hot _zing_ was followed by the coppery stench of blood, and a pressured swell of agony. Fresh tears spilled down his temples and he gave a useless, choked cry for help. Everything went tight between his hips and when he clenched down he physically choked from how much it hurt. He wanted to cry out in pain, but his voice escaped him.

 

He’d never felt a heated pain like this before. He was forced too wide too fast and when he tugged on the toy another spill of tears came. He blubbered grossly as he tried to press the button again, jostling the toy against his obscenely stretched rim, but the mechanism inside the padded plastic buzzed at him in protest. Dark brows furrowed up as he tried again but got the same discouraging sound. He vaguely remembered something in the directions talking about a minimum time limit before it deflated. But those words were blurry gibberish compared to the scared Omegan instincts flooding the front of his mind. All he could think of was his Alpha, _Ryan_ , who could make it all better.

 

Ray sucked in a breath and tried to yank the toy out by force by the dry drag against his rim made him whine and let go. The knot was firmly stuck along his raw hole and he’d stopped slicking. The only wetness down there was the metallic tang of blood. The only thing he’d done is angle the toy to stab against some sensitive parts and it only made things worse. He hadn’t used enough lube, he knew that now, and there was none on the bed to help him now. But there was a phone.

 

Ray slapped a hand on the bed and managed to blindly find it, hand shaking as he unlocked the screen and tried to find his way to Ryan’s contact. His vision was fucked up from tears and even more without his glasses but it was a practiced motion his fingers knew, though more difficult than when he’d to take a pictures last week with the synthetic cum. He pressed the screen and put the phone to his ear, sniffling and trying his best not to openly cry. The pain was getting to him and it felt like it did back when Ryan had first rimmed him. Out of control, intoxicating in the worse way - his head was spinning and the hurt between his thighs only grew.

 

 _“Ray?”_ The Gent sounded a little distracted. _“What’s up?”_

 

“Alpha.”

 

There was an almost palpable mood shift over the line. _“What’s wrong?”_

 

“It’s stuck,” he grunted out.

 

 _“What?”_ the word was a sharp demand.

 

“I d-didn’t get it in deep enough, the knot...it’s on the edge, not inside…” The ache almost extended the humiliation. He grit his teeth and clenched his eyes shut. “ ‘M so stupid. Can’t even do this right. Wanted to be good for you, to take it...prove I can take you…”

 

 _“That’s enough of that.”_ It sounded like Ryan was moving around, and there was a shuffle of clothes and a jingle of keys. _“You need to deflate the knot right now. I know it’s hard, sweetheart, but it’s important.”_

 

“It’s too soon.”

 

Ryan must have just remembered the instruction because he made a small, frustrated sound. _“You can’t slid it out at all? Or even in?”_

 

“I stopped slicking,” Ray rasped, sucking in a loud breath when he moved the toy like he needed a reminder of how dry he was. “A-And the lube...

 

A growl slipped over the line and he snapped his mouth shut, mind swirling with a dozen apologies. To even think that his Omega was home _alone_ and in dire need because he was neglectful enough to even allow Ray to play with an advanced toy made him upset with no one but himself. But the sound stopped pretty quick as he got his composure back.

 

_“Okay, babe, but you can’t leave it like that, you’ll tear yourself. You need to stay relaxed, and keep trying the button.”_

 

There was more noise and Ray whined, afraid he was being ignored. Realistically he knew Ryan’s sole focus was on him at the moment but it was hard to remember that when he heard the man moving around. “Rye, wh-what are you…?” A door opened and closed, a jingle of keys, and the faint scratch of the wind against the receiver.

 

_“I’m going to be there in like fifteen minutes. Just stay relaxed, and keep hitting the button. Do not bare down, and don’t pull at it. Is there any blood?”_

 

“I...think so. I can smell it.”

 

_“I’m bringing medicine, okay? If it’s too bad then I’m going to take you to the hospital.”_

 

“I don’t need to go-” Ray panicked and tried to sit up, yelping. “ _Fuck_.”

 

 _“I said stay still!”_ It was a clear order with an underline of desperation and the Omega was too weak to resist it. _“Stay on the phone with me and keep tryin’ the button. I’m not going anywhere.”_

 

“Okay, Alpha,” Ray breathed out. He laid flat and kept his legs bent, making sure to keep pressure off the toy. He swallowed down little whines and listened to the man get into his car, the roar of the engine filling his ear.

 

_“Do you want a dog?”_

 

Ray was thrown. “I...what?”

 

 _“Well, if we’re going to buy a house, we’re going to need a dog,”_ Ryan pressed with a mirthful laugh that lightened some of the heavy pressure in his chest. _“I mean we could keep my house but I was thinking I could sell it and we could go a size up. Maybe a yard if we get a dog.”_

 

Ray smiled weakly, scrubbing the back of his hand over his wet eyes. “What kind of dog?”

 

His voice was breathy and bordered on a whimper but he could hear his Alpha’s small rumble of relief. _“A lab or something, maybe a retriever.”_

 

“A...german shephard?”

 

 _“We’ll get a mix, dear,”_ Ryan teased lightly, putting on the “husband” voice the guys at the office said he slid into when he called Ray. _“Should I put down we want a fence or would you rather watch me build one?”_

 

Ray pressed the button on the toy to deflate it but it only buzzed again. This time it didn’t move too much and the throb against his hole wasn’t so bad. it still burned white-hot and his eyes wouldn’t dry but his chest didn’t feel like it was about to collapse anymore. “Build one. Definitely.”

 

Ryan kept him distracted as best he could with “stupid couple talk”, laying out all the decisions they would need for their future home. It was something they’d vaguely talked about and the last time the Omega had come down hard on himself his mate had brought him out of it researching the types of wood they’d want for their floors. It was achingly domestic and almost boring, except something about the calmness of it grounded him in a way a hand on his nape did.

 

And then the toy finally gave with a whirr. Ray groaned in relief and eased the shaft out, tossing it further down the sheets. Without the toy he _gaped_ and it was grossly uncomfortable to feel himself struggle to close up again. He was loose, used, and it stung him right in the nerve base of his old insecurities.

 

“It’s out,” he announced, grimacing at the pangs of his sore walls.

 

 _“Thank God,”_ Ryan muttered. _“I’m on your street, I’ll be here in a minute or two. I’m going to hang up and park, okay?”_

 

“I’m fine.”

 

_“Promise?”_

 

“Promise.”

 

Ray set aside the phone and slowly let his legs stretch out, wincing at how the pain shot up into his lower back. _I broke my ass. I fucking broke it for forever and I’ll never feel Ryan knot inside me. I’m never going to feel that cool feel of a dick jerking in my ass because I ruined it with a fake-ass knotting toy that wasn’t even that good. I knew I shouldn’t have done it tonight, I was feeling like fucking shit all day. All that crap Ryan spews about being in the right mindset is right...smug fuck, I’m not telling him._

 

Ray threw an arm over his eyes and didn’t move it until he heard the door open and close, the lock, and the sound of shoes thudding against the wall. “Ray?”

 

The bedroom door was thrown open and Ryan looked flushed, worried, and he was holding a plastic grocery bag (something he knew his boyfriend kept a stockpile of). The Omega reached for him and chittered lowly, arms open in submissive need.

 

“Baby,” Ryan murmured as he quickly came up to lean over the boy and kiss his damp forehead. Ray whined a little until he got a real kiss, chaste and then _deep_ with broad swipes of his Alpha’s tongue. He clung to Ryan’s shoulder but eventually the ache came back full force and he had to break it. “Let me look.”

 

“I…”

 

Ryan hushed him and moved them both around, though he tried not to jostle the Omega anymore than necessary. He cradled Ray in his lap, letting him rest his head on his shoulder and tucking him in the crook of his arm. The Omega nibbled on his neck for comfort as his lower back throbbed with his heartbeat.  

 

“I’m going to put on gloves and check you, okay? I have some specialized antibiotic gel for Omegas when this happens.”

 

Ray hid his face against the man’s shirt. “That’s embarrassing as fuck.”

 

“It’s normal,” Ryan promised as he dug in the plastic bag and dug his fingers into the square box there, puncturing it and tugging out a glove. “If there’s a lot of blood then strangers will be doing this. If you need stitches-”

 

“ _Fine_ ,” Ray whined sharply, fingers curling in the old t-shirt. He breathed in great gulps of his Alpha’s hearth scent and let the buttery warmth coat the inside of his chest. He spread his legs and let Ryan’s arm fit between his knees, tender kisses falling into his hair and on his forehead. Stubble and chapped lips were more soothing than silk. Covered fingers touched his hole and he grit his teeth, sucking in more of that Alpha musk. They were so gentle as they rubbed across his rim, dipping shallowly inside. Ray chittered quietly and his eyes fell shut so he didn’t see the gloved fingers raise up to show off only a faint pink with the hint of new slick.

 

Ryan tucked his mate’s head into his neck and managed to fish out the tube of antibiotic gel from the bag. It was infused with a mild painkiller and numbing agent, along with suppository-safe ingredients he knew healed wounds. He popped the tab with one hand and squeezed a sloppy dose on his fingers. He slid the digits around, mint green gel coating two of them, and then dropped them down. Ray’s hole was puffy and swollen, a copper smell raising up between his thighs but nothing red in sight. Ryan slid one finger inside as gingerly as he could, rubbing it in. Though Ray groaned in discomfort there were no sharp jerks, no complaints - there was a good chance there was no tearing. He asked quietly if there were any raw spots, anything felt like it was giving, and the Omega shook his head a little. There was nothing he could feel. His first Alpha, the soccer player - he could remember getting torn inside, could remember applying this type of medicine himself. It was distinctive, and there was none of that inside his mate.

 

“I’m going to put in one more, okay? I’ll be gentle. I just want to spread it around more.”

 

“Okay…”

 

When Ryan carefully slid in the second finger he expected another pained hiss, or for him to try and pull away, but the Omega surprisingly chittered and nuzzled into his shoulder. Ray’s hole soaked up the gel and he had to reapply before sliding both fingers back in, the slack rim flexing weakly around them. He still couldn’t feel a tear and thankfully there was no visible wounds - the knot hadn’t injured him enough to warrant a trip to the hospital.

 

The warmed-over vanilla scent hit him just as he realized that it was slick, not gel, that was trickling from his mate’s hole. Blonde lashes fanned low as he watched the clear, healthy slick dribble down. There was a pink tint, but nothing that couldn’t be healed with time and rest. “How does it feel?”

 

“Tingly, warm, but s’good,” Ray slurred a little, fingers compulsively flexing in the Alpha’s shirt. “Feels...fuck, it feels _really_ good.”

 

“Mmhm?” Ryan gently curls his fingers inside the Omega, drawing out a faint moan. He searched gradually for the little gland inside him. It was swollen and firm against his fingertips and he pressed, rumbling when Ray yipped and clung tight to him. He was as tender as he could be, rubbing small circles on the little sweet spot and scenting his boy’s hair. His own breath picked up as Ray started to rock into the touch, tugging at him and whimpering sweetly near his ear. “If I hurt you…”

 

Ray grunted and grabbed at the arm that was between his legs, digging fingers in through his shirt sleeve and muscle. He held the limb tight, moaning openly and grinding down as hard as he dared even with the pain now on a low simmer. Ryan nosed at his forehead until the boy tilted his head back for a kiss, and once he had those lips he let his fingertips ride lightly over that little gland. The Omega’s moan was as sweet as his scent against his mouth and he swallowed it down eagerly, moving his fingers so carefully with _precision_ to drag out every drop of pleasure he could.

 

Ray was trembling in the best way now and he didn’t want to give up the feeling.

 

Ryan saw the plump of his mate's cock between his legs and his mouth went dry. “Ray, can I...?”

 

“Jesus, Rye, _anything_.” His mate sounded to be on solid footing again and the Alpha searched his flushed face for any sign that he was putting up a strong front. When he found nothing more than desire tinged with desperation, he pounced. Ray _oofed_ quietly as he was dropped to the bed while the man covered him, kissing him so fiercely he lost his breath in a good way. It was not a long press of lips, Ryan had other things on his mind, and he was quick to act on them with this new permission.

 

Ray latched his hands on broad shoulders and dug his fingers into the soft skin as Ryan moved down, his thighs bracketing the man as he got comfortable. A hand on the Omega’s hip and the other braced on the bed, Ryan lowered his head and barely cast a smoldering blue gaze up before he swiped his tongue across the flushed head of the small cock so hard and needy in its nest of raven curls. It was a burst of musky sweetness through his mouth and he groaned softly before diving back in for more. The Omega squirmed at the feeling of the hot mouth all over his cock, tongue making quick laps to chase the taste.

 

Ryan grinned at all the cute little noises that filled the room. He didn’t want to draw this out, they had all the time for that later. Right now his mate had been on the edge for who knows how long and he needed a release, and an ice pack. He slid the cockhead between his lips and relished the way Ray mewled, squeezing his shoulders as the Gent french kissed the tip. With one smooth move he slid down to the base, the length laying so sweet and hot along his tongue.

 

“Christ, Ryan!” Ray gasped, head thrashing against the sheet. It was sudden and _delicious_ and too much, not enough, all those cliché feelings wracking his head and mixing with the stale flush of Omega instincts. Wet heat surrounded him and he couldn’t help but thrust up, fucking between those lips - the ones that had spent so much time along his nape, taking his own, burning trails along his shoulders and wrists. They were generous and pressed so tight, wet from the eager licking, and he wouldn’t last long. “F-fuck, feels so good. I didn’t know you... _oh-”_

 

Ryan cradled the Omega’s hips in both hands and tucked his thumb into the dips there, fingers curling in yielding cheeks. He kept his lips pursed and tongued over the hard flesh, swallowing and humming and working his mate into a small frenzy. He was so precious and the Alpha’s cock twitched all trapped in his too-tight underwear, wanting so badly to rut skin-to-skin with his mate.

 

He felt his mate’s legs trembling, the plush of his thighs quaking slightly with each lick that the Alpha gave to his Omega’s smooth cocklet. A thick bead of promising precum dabbed against his tongue and he licked it quickly before continuing to move again. The lovely song of Ray’s moans encouraged him, only making his cock ache even more. He started to arch his fingers faster, flicking them against the soft, clenching walls. A wave of liquid warmth tailed over his fingers and the smell of blood had almost faded into nothing, giving Ryan the relief that he needed to know his Omega was okay.

 

“R-Ryan, Ryan,” Ray chanted until he quieted with nothing but mindless babbles coming from his mouth that hung opened into a loose “O”. His eyes rolled back as he gave his hips one last jut into the Alpha’s mouth, cursing softly when he felt his end.

 

There was barely a choked off cry of his name before his mouth filled with cream. It had a vanilla sweetness to it but the bitter starch was erotic. He gladly swallowed it, rubbing soothing circles on Ray’s hips as they twitched to the rhythm of his climax. Blunt nails dug into his shoulders. He didn’t spill near the amount of an Alpha but just a perfect couple swallows. Ray’s moans quieted to deep breaths and he slowed, fingers no longer biting but rubbing gratefully.

 

“So good, Rye, God damn,” Ray uttered, lashes falling heavy over his glossy eyes.

 

“You’re a good Omega,” Ryan countered as he dropped kisses on damp thighs, tasting the salt of his sweat. “Beautiful, wonderful - so perfect.”

 

Ray chittered warmly under the praise and his smile was small but blissful. He could feel the Alpha moving around, lips leaving his legs. He cracked open his eyes when he heard the crinkle of plastic. Ryan ripped open the tab on the sanitary wipe package with his teeth. It sent a little flutter through his gut - an Alpha providing, even in an embarrassing moment like this, was still enough to bring up a chitter in the back of his throat. Ryan cleaned his hands with one wipe then pulled out another to start swiping away the sweat and musk from his mate’s thighs. He made sure to tug out a fresh one before cleaning up his aching hole. The contact stung but when the Omega hissed he was quickly soothed, throat scented and given bristly kisses.

 

“Clean enough,” Ryan announced a little proudly as he stuffed the used wipes in the plastic bag. He pulled out the cold back before tossing the bed. “Scoot up onto the pillows, get comfortable.”

 

“But ‘m comfortable,” Ray complained, though he dragged himself up until he could drop his head on the biggest pillow. He watched with a soft smile as his mate stripped down to his boxers before grabbing a pair of basketball shorts off the floor. He slipped them on before tucking behind the Omega, cracking the cold pack and giving it a shake. “Rye, what - dude!”

 

Ryan tucked the quickly-chilling ice pack between the Omega’s cheeks and laughed good-naturedly at the way he jumped. He hooked his chin over the Lad’s shoulder and brushed a chaste kiss across his cheek.

 

“Get that thing off my ass!” Ray protested, losing steam as the sensation met the gel and a cool filled him where hot pain had been. He cooed quietly and relaxed against his Alpha, hiking his leg up just a little to let the pack lay perfectly on his most sensitive area. It had been overwhelming at first but as Ryan rumbled soothingly in his ear he got used to it, letting it help him.

 

“No more toys like this,” Ryan proposed quietly, keeping any Alpha rumble out of his voice, though it was difficult after that rush. “Nothing too big and nothing with a knot unless I’m here with you to help.” He held his breath, afraid he’d asked too much.

 

Ray’s relieved sigh was a surprise. “Okay.”

 

“Okay?” he repeated dumbly.

 

“Okay,” Ray promised, rubbing their cheeks the best he could. “We can start doing stuff?”

 

Ryan’s smirk was amused and he pressed closer. When he spoke, it was in an intimate whisper. “I don’t know if you noticed, bun, but I just sucked you off so well I think everyone within a mile knows it.”

 

“But we’ll do more things,” Ray pressed. “Like, I’ll be able to see your fucking dick eventually.”

 

“I’ll give you whatever you want.” The words were velvety soft and they sent a bittersweet pang into the Lad’s chest. “Anything.”

 

Ray closed his eyes and fell into his Alpha’s care, drifting off and trusting that he’d be taken care of. The trust was well put. Ryan carefully timed how long he left the ice pack against his mate’s hole. By the time he removed it, the Lad was fast asleep, worn out.

 

Ryan quietly rubbed another wet wipe over him, cleaning up what he’d missed earlier, before settling down behind him. He let his fingers pet over his mate’s hip, over his leg, plucking over the faint ridges of his ribs. His beautiful mate, his Omega, one of his best friends...Ryan’s heart was swollen with affection. _I love you...so much_. He buried his nose in those fragrant tresses. _I’ll do anything for you._

 

“I promise to be good to you,” Ryan whispered against the Omega’s shoulder, chest tight. “I’ll try so hard not to hurt you...I’ll never walk away…”

 

Ryan fell asleep with promises still falling from his lips onto his sleeping mate.

 

o0o

 

The next day they made for a long time against the door before Ryan managed to pry himself away long enough to get out the door. Even then, he was clinging to Ray’s hand and dropping kisses on it.

 

o0o0o0o

 

“Oh come on, tell me.”

 

Ryan laughed and snagged a Diet Coke out of the breakroom fridge, snagging the last Monster as well. He straightened up and bumped the door shut with his hip, handing the energy drink to his pouting boyfriend.

 

“Come on, dude, you can’t just tease me with the term ‘power-bottom’ and then drop the subject. I had to Google that shit.”

 

“It was one dream,” Ryan protested, though he gave a long pause. “Well, one _daydream_. More like...”

 

Ray broke out into a sharp, knowing grin. “It was fucking filthy, wasn’t?” The look on his boyfriend’s face told him everything. “It _was_. Pervy old dude. What was it about?”

 

“Well.” Ryan drew out the word again.

 

“Please?” Ray mimicked the tone perfectly.

 

_BDSM. Spanking. Omega-play. Complete domination on a pommel horse._

 

“Eh, maybe I’ll tell you later.”

 

“Kinky asshole.”

 

He shot him an exaggerated wink. “Only with you.”

 

“I really fucking doubt that.”

 


	75. Geoff, Michael, and Gavin XI

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin wants to be more involved with their sex life, he thinks he's being left out. Geoff steps it up as Alpha to show him he's wrong.

Doubt was hard to eliminate. They’d moved in together, played together, kissed and humped and established a sense of  _ matehood  _ but still Gavin’s mind was cruel. Even with his things mixing with the others he still felt a sense of not belonging. It wasn’t anything Geoff or Michael had done, exactly. They were their usual warm, welcoming selves and they all meshed well together as roommates. They all three messed around but it felt like there was still something missing when it came to his corner of the relationship. His anxieties told him that they didn’t want him as a full mate, that they were fucking each other whenever his back was turned and enjoying it more than when he was playing. But his reasonable, calm side that sounded a lot like Dan told him he wasn’t letting himself be involved fully in their sex life - that he was holding back and his mates were trying their best to make him happy  _ and  _ comfortable. 

  
  


The lights were off and the TV was playing some  _ Always Sunny _ reruns that were barely being watched. Michael was sprawled out on the couch covered up by a blanket, softly snoring away with the colored lights gently flickering over him. He looked small and sweet in one of Geoff’s plaid shirts, smelling like their Alpha.  Gavin was tucked in close to Geoff’s side, head resting on his shoulder as he overthought.

  
  


Geoff laughed softly at a joke and became aware of his quiet mate. He turned his head and sniffed at Gavin’s hair, frowning when he caught a souring to his usually fresh scent. Gavin had been a little off all day but it seemed it had finally reached a peak. “You okay, buddy?”   
  


“ Yeah, ‘course.” There was a tremble in his voice. Geoff followed the Brit’s gaze to Michael’s prone form, saw how it flicked to the shelf on the wall where had placed framed pictures of the trips he and Michael had taken in their early courting days. Gavin cleared his throat and he was sure the Omega’s eyes had landed on the picture of them on the day Michael had agreed to be his mate - his hands on Michael’s waist, the boy’s arms hung loose around his neck, both of them smiling  ~~ touching  ~~ and foreheads touching. Jon, so new then, had insisted on taking them outside the office and snapping the picture. The lighting, the trees behind them, everything about the picture was soft and it always touched his heart.

  
  


It seemed to have struck Gavin a different way.

  
  


“Okay, Gavvers, enough of this.” Geoff grabbed the Omega by the hips and dragged him onto his lap, holding him tight as he tried to squirm away until he gave him and just straddled his lap. Gavin wasn’t pouting exactly but he looked very defeated and it tugged at the Alpha’s heart, bringing out a low rumble. “What’s wrong?”

  
  


“Nothing,” Gavin lied. 

  
  


“I hope you’re not thinking stupid stuff like you not belonging here.” Gavin’s eyes went wide and he knew he’d hit the nail on the head. “You see all those pictures of me and Michael over there?”

  
  


“Yeah,” he answered meekly.

  
  


“You’re forgetting all the pictures over there.” He turned Gavin’s head to the wall above Michael’s head where there were a few hung, framed pictures of early Roosterteeth. There were two exclusively of Gavin and Geoff all over each other, smiling brightly at the camera as they had the time of their lives. He pulled his head back after a moment to brush their noses. “And all the pictures on our laptops and phones of all three of us, of just you and me. Hell, all the videos you two shoot together.”

  
  


Gavin’s mouth opened and closed dumbly, brows pinching. 

 

“No one’s leaving you out,” Geoff promised gently. “It’s all three of us now. We’re gonna fill this whole house up with stupid shit of us, okay?”

  
  


He nodded a little. “Yeah.”

  
  


Geoff could feel the walls his boy was putting up and he knew there wasn’t much more he could say. The time for talking was past. He cupped the Omega’s nape and pulled him in for a kiss. It was just a sweet touch at first but it quickly became more. He tipped Gavin’s head to the side and slanted their lips, nipping briefly at his lip before slipping his tongue inside. The Omega made a small noise but was starting to melt as he gratefully took the kiss. Geoff took his time to map every inch of his mouth, to taste him and let him relax.

  
  


“Geoff,” Gavin muttered against his mouth, a little confused about the sudden turn.

  
  


“I love you.”

  
  


His cheeks warmed. “I...love you too, Geoff. What are-?”

  
  


“ _ I love you _ .”

  
  


Gavin gasped as he was taken into another kiss, this one with more passion behind it. He clung to the Alpha’s shoulders and his worried thoughts started to drift away. Warmth and citrus filled his nose, the earthy notes cutting away the acidic sting. He hummed happily and moved around on his lap as wide-palmed hand laid over his ribs, gliding down to his waist and to his hips where they squeezed. Fingertips dipped under his shirt and he shivered as they climbed higher to leave spidering trails of sensation. Geoff’s thumb had hooked in the hem and dragged it up too.

  
  


“What…”

  
  


“ You trust me?”   
  


“ Bloody ‘course I do.”

  
  


Geoff slipped his shirt off and they fell back into a heavy kiss, lips tingling. Gavin choked back a few curses as his Alpha’s hands started to really wander, raking through the pelt on his chest and then soothing the scratches with loving rubs. It sent a hot shot of blood to his cock and he started rocking against him as his ribs were drummed over, five solid points of contact branding his lower back and teasing under his sweats. Gavin whined breathlessly when Geoff broke the kiss but he was pacified when firm kisses were suckled down his jaw, teeth leaving pink marks that would flush darker soon enough. He thought maybe the Alpha was going for his nipples to tease him but it was more than that. The kisses were slow and wet, covering so much skin and leaving his scent behind. All across his throat on each side, head tipped back in bliss. The Alpha’s fangs teased along his pulse and down to his collarbone. Geoff lapped in the dip of it and the feeling was so overwhelming he shuddered. 

  
  


It hit Gavin suddenly. He was being scented - the start of a full body scent in the old school style.  _ Marked. _

  
The thought barely registered before Geoff tipped him over and put him on his back. His sweats were yanked off and he stared, surprised. Geoff covered him up and the weight of the Alpha on top of him, the kiss he was caught up in, made him dizzy. Inked fingers carded briefly through his hair and down his throat, thumb catching on his Adam’s apple. It was strikingly intimate as Geoff started to nuzzle down his chest, faint beard rasping against chest hair. Gavin briefly wished he looked more like the stereotypical Omega, smooth and pretty, but as his mate started rubbing his cheek against his furry tummy like a cat with such a content expression - he couldn’t really ask to be any other way. Geoff’s hands glided behind him and splayed across his shoulder blades, running them down to the dip of his back once more.

  
  


The room was starting to get saturated in mated-Alpha hormone markers and every breath made Gavin sink just a little deeper inside his own mind. But not in the way that scared him, in a way that was comforting.

  
  


Geoff pressed kisses all along the top of his briefs. “What? No jock?”

  
  


“Don’t make fun of me,” Gavin griped, burying his fingers into dark hair. 

  
  


“I’m not, I love them. These are cute too.” They were Creeper green briefs cut tight with a thick black band. He cupped the Omega’s ass and gave it a nice squeeze, grinning when he felt how high they went. Nothing too noticeable but he knew those fat, tan cheeks would peek out nicely if he got the Brit to stand up. “Let me guess - Michael?”

  
  


Gavin grinned but it fell into gape as Geoff ran his hands over his knees and pushed them apart, moving down until he could kiss over the distinct bulge of his cock. “Fucking hell, Alpha…”

  
  


Geoff hummed and took his time nuzzling over the top of his Omega’s thighs. His hands roamed down his strong calves and thumbs brushed lovingly over the dip in his ankles, trailing back up to tickle a little under his knees. He made sure not one inch of Gavin’s thighs went untouched, scrubbing his cheeks against the sensitive skin to make sure his scent stuck. The Alpha started to rumble more heavily as he realized that his boy was getting wet, the fabric a little damp down between his thighs. That sweet cock was fattened all the way up and he could see it straining against his briefs, making them impossibly tighter. 

  
  


Geoff licked over it and Gavin gushed, filling the air with the musk of pressed petals and sweet Omega need. The Gent groaned and cupped the bulge, moving up to steal another kiss. Gavin whined and pushed up into his palm, fisting a hand in his t-shirt and yanking it. 

  
  


“Guys?”

  
  


Geoff braced an elbow on the couch next to the Omega’s head and looked over to see Michael had woken up. The Lad was sitting up and rubbing his eyes in a strikingly endearing way. “Wanna’ play, Michael?”

  
  


The other Omega nodded before crawling off the couch and toward them. Gavin gave a confused squawk as he was easily dragged back up into Geoff’s lap. He got a quick kiss before he was turned around to face the room, making another little noise as he felt the bulge of the Alpha’s cock against his ass. He rocked his hips and ground against it, wetting his lips as the thickness rubbed against him in the best way. He lost himself in it for a moment, rolling his hips and chittering lowly as Geoff took them between his hands.

  
  


His focus shifted as he felt fingers curl in the band of his briefs. Gavin’s breath hitched noisily at the sight of Michael kneeling between both their legs, cheek still red and warm from sleep as he stared up at them with true bedroom eyes. With a happy hum, Michael rolled his briefs down over his hips and thighs, letting them slide along his calves before they were tossed aside. They all took a moment to breathe and the Alpha scent bled with fresh Omega arousal in a potent cocktail that made them all a little dark eyed and loopy.

  
  


“Want to lick your Omega, baby boy?” Geoff teased, fingers curling under lean thighs to gently part them. Gavin squirmed at being exposed, hole and cock twitching as the vulnerability set in. But these were his mates, truly, and he was safer here than anywhere else. He leaned back against Geoff and let his head fall over his shoulder to rest fully against him. Belly still tickling with nervous butterflies, Gavin watched Michael rise up on his knees more to kiss at his wet cock. It was just pressure at first but warm fingers fisted his cock and carefully moved down, extra flesh pulling tight to reveal the soaked, pink tip. Gavin gasped hoarsely as he felt plush lips slide over the sensitive head. Michael had  heavenly lips and was mouthing so needily over his cock, licking soft at first and then more firmly as he started to wake up a little more.

  
  


“Wanna’ suck,” Michael slurred, words tickling the sensitive skin. Gavin made a little squeal and wiggled to get away from the sensation and to kind of push up into it too. 

  
  


Geoff smoothed his hands along the Brit’s inner thighs and hiked them up, keeping them spread and ready for the other Omega. Gavin shuddered against him but didn’t fight. “Your Omega wants you so badly, Michael. Let’s make him feel good.”

  
  


A curious chitter spilled past Gavin’s lips but he didn’t have to wonder for long before Michael easily swallowed him down. He didn’t have too much leverage so he couldn’t buck much but he rocked weakly between those sweet lips. Michael made gorgeous noises that teased his cock, tongue so firm and mouth pure liquid warmth around him. 

  
  


Gavin’s moan cut off into a whimper when one of the Alpha’s hands slipped down between his cheeks and started rubbing at his hole. “G-Geoff…” Digits almost grazed Michael they were so close and one slid inside the wet rim, pressure making his head toss back. Gavin reached behind him and snagged a fistful of dark hair, the other groping down to seize pretty cinnamon curls in his grip. He tugged and whined at his mates, hips trying to bounce between them.

  
  


“ He’s  _ soaked _ , Michael,” Geoff rumbled sweetly, catching doe eyes over the Omega’s shoulder. “Your pretty dick would slide right up inside him like this.” Gavin almost gagged with how badly he wanted that, fingers digging into his mates. He almost growled when the Alpha’s finger slid out but two came back, easing past his slack, welcoming rim. He was starting to slowly drip and ooze all over Geoff’s fingers and down onto his palm, the earthy scent hitting his nose and making him blush more. They felt so good, solid and warm, gentle as they started to move inside him. There was a pang of ache at first but it quickly faded under the thrum of pleasure. 

  
  


Between Michael’s mouth and the Alpha’s fingers, he was losing himself.

  
  


Gavin turned his head and dragged his lips over Geoff’s ear. “Fuck me.” It was faint and breathless and it sent heat straight to Geoff’s cock.

  
  


“Slut,” he snarled affectionately, sliding in a third finger and using his free hand to help the Omega rock onto them and up into Michael. “Do you believe us now? We need you. You’re ours, we’re yours. Mates, Gavin. It means something.”

  
  


Michael popped off the other’s cock with a little gasp, lips shining. He still looked drowsy, scent drunk. “Need you so much, Gavvy.” He whined in distress and moved further up, throwing the other Omega’s legs over his shoulders and cupping his hips, fingers curling along his cheeks. His hand brushed Geoff’s and he dove back down on that wet, shining cock. Gavin wailed as his mates worked together to rock him between three fingers that were giving him such an amazing stretch and a heated mouth that drank from him like he didn’t want anything else.

  
  


“Ours,” Geoff growled out, sending goosebumps over his chest and arms. He was flushed up and boiling, Michael sucking him right up into a quick finish. It was just too much for the poor Brit, he’d never been used so well. The only time he’d been so swamped in the scents of his mates was when they slept in their new bed, in innocent times or when they fooled around. But never when he was full, when he was fucking between them and wished he had their cocks inside him. In his haze of lust he wanted them both inside, to ride their laps and soak them in slick. Maybe have Michael in his mouth all sweet and full, Geoff’s knot against his rim-

  
  


“Ah!”

  
  


His mates held tight as he started to buck like he was getting shocked by more than heated sensation. Michael wanted to palm that tight, scarred sack but Gavin was a livewire between them as he started to come so he just kept his cock warm. He could hear how fast Geoff was fucking his talented fingers into their Omega’s ass and he wanted to pull back and watch but he waited, suckling, and was rewarded with a splash of bitter seed at the back of his throat.

  
  


“ Michael, Michael,” Gavin crooned in breathless wonder, hips stuttering weakly. “ _ Alpha _ .”

  
  


Geoff nipped behind the Omega’s ear and dragged his canine across a faintly swollen scent gland. “That’s my good boy. Let go for us, we’ve got you. Our Omega.”

  
  


Gavin whimpered and melted into the other, gasping and flushed from his hard nips up to his cheeks. His arms went limp and he immediately craved the feeling of their hair between his fingers again. He stretched like a cat as Michael’s lips made the slow, wet glide off his softening cock. His thighs chook on the boy’s shoulders and visibly twitched when a tongue lapped at his skin to get to the wet, pink head beneath the folds. Drops were licked up with sleepy hunger and when he finally pulled back he gave the Alpha a smoldering stare.

  
  


“Take ‘em out slow.”

  
  


Geoff grinned at the Omega. “You want a show, baby?”

  
  


Michael nodded, taking Gavin’s thighs in his own hands so the man could ease out. Geoff kissed the Brit’s throat and murmured some loving nonsense as he slid all three fingers out of that dripping hole. Michael watched shamelessly as wet skin stretched the dark, glistening rim and the sound was as obscene as the sight. Slick dripped out of him so thick he could’ve mistaken the other for being in heat. Gavin shuddered and chittered submissively as he rode the high of climax and enjoyed how careful his mates were, how much they wanted him, and how they showed that with every touch and kiss.

  
  


“Gav,” Michael breathed out, teeth raking over his reddened lip. “You look so good. Can I…?” He trailed off, pressing down his need to eat the Omega out when he saw how blissed out his expression was. He’d been asleep for most of it but it seemed his mates had been scenting before, and maybe before that something had been wrong. He looked to Geoff to follow his lead, wondering just how deep the hurt went in their Omega. 

  
Geoff rumbled soothingly and moved the pliant Brit with him. He laid down tight against the back of the couch and spooned Gavin into him, mouth on his nape and touching all the way to the knees. Gavin’s Omegan purr was pure music and snuggled into it, a tattooed arm curling around his waist to ground him more. He pawed forward and tugged at his other mate’s shoulder.

  
  


“Michael…”

  
  


“I’m here, Gav,” Michael promised. The three of them couldn’t fit so he got as close as he could. Their foreheads bumped gently, noses brushing, Michael’s hands petting comfortably over his thigh and drifting up to his hip. Tender kisses were pecked on pliant lips and Gavin sighed happily between them, fingers overly warm but still gliding over both mates.

  
  


“My boy,” Gavin murmured tiredly, head all stuffed with cotton and the scent of warm cherry and lemon and musk. He could smell the arousal in his mates but they didn’t want a thing from him besides to give him little kisses and nuzzle at. He wet his lips and tried to keep talking but it was so hard when all he wanted to do was drift away. “Should go to bed.”

  
  


“I’ll carry you in a moment,” Geoff promised, nose brushing through golden tresses. “Just relax. Your mates are here.”

  
  


Gavin’s lashes fluttered wildly before they fell shut, his whole body going liquid between them. The world got fuzzy and dark for a while and when he surfaced he was sandwiched between two firm bodies. Two kind mouths peppered him with kisses and their bed was exceptionally soft tonight. He tried to tell them how much this meant to him, how he felt so much better now than he did an hour ago, but everything was so heavy that he could only nuzzle into Michael’s hair before falling asleep.

  
  


o0o

  
  


Gavin woke up alone but his chest was full of light joy and he knew his mates were close. The room was soaked in all their scents and he wanted to lick the sheets from how good it was. He waddled downstairs and there was Geoff at the stove with several pans going, his boy at the table with a freshly-whipped protein shake in one of their tall glasses.

  
  


Michael chittered around the straw and turned around to see him, smiling with it between his lips and holding a hand out at him. Gavin smiled back and took his hand slowly, fingers sliding together before lacing. Michael didn’t let go so he sat down, watching him drink and playing contently with the calloused digits.

  
  


“Hungry?” Geoff asked, leaving the pans sizzling to slug down a couple hits of coffee.

  
  


“Starving,” Gavin admitted, chewing briefly at the corner of his lip. “Guys, about last night...I don’t doubt that you two care about me.”

  
  


“Gavin,” the Alpha started, glancing back a little as he went back to cooking. “Doubts are normal, everyone has them. But you’re our mate now and we don’t want you to ever think we don’t want you here. This is our home.”

  
  


“All ours,” Michael added, voice a little husked from the shake.

  
  


“I want us…” Gavin trailed off again, unsure how to put it without sounding stupid. “I want to be more involved.”

  
  


The sudden heat that flared in the eyes of his mates made him light headed.

  
  


“Oh, we can do that.”

* * *

  
**I'm sorry I made you guys wait so long. I was truly inspired by the stream! Hopefully this means more of this fic to come**   
  


 

 


	76. Group II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin calls Geoff "Daddy" for the first time, their matehood falls into place, we check in on Burnie, and Geoff realizes he's been a shitty Pack Alpha and more bonding should definitely happen with the rest of his pack besides his mates.

** Taking the advice of a friend, I'm trying not to saturate everything I write in porn. Cause  a story needs more than that and it's not fair for the peeps who are here for more than that. Now, the rest of this story is basically porn since it's been like 70 chaps of cockteasing. I'm not cutting out any more, just stuffing more fluff and angst and pack feels into it. I hope you guys enjoy!! **

 

 

* * *

 

 

Joel wasn’t sure what it meant that Burnie didn’t want him to stay over at his house. They were old enough and were kind of a couple now (though he was hesitant with labels) so it would be the normal conclusion to a night together. Drink some beer, get off, then pass out. But Burnie was so twitchy about it, like there was something to hide. Joel tried not to let his anxieties and paranoia jump straight to “other partner” but it was difficult when the other seemed to be pushing him out the door all the time.

  
  


Then they slipped up. Exhausted from hosting a charity even with some of the other “Founding Fathers”, they took one Uber straight to Burnie’s house. They both knew they were exhausted but they were in the mood to fool around, even just a little. They stumbled up the stairs fused at the mouth, ready to rub cocks a little, but the second they hit the bed they were out cold. 

  
  


Joel woke up in a fog. His arms were still asleep so he struggled to sit up and get a good look at the clock. Almost three AM. He laughed a little and rubbed at his eyes, a faint headache touching his temples. “We really are getting too old for this.” He reached for Burnie to rub over his back or touch his hair, reaffirm he was there, but the man was gone. 

  
  


The door was cracked and he could hear something from maybe down the hall. He scooted to the edge of the bed and got up, stretching a little before heading out to find his friend. No lights were turned on so it took a few moments to realize there were retching noises coming from the bathroom.  _ Poor bastard. Maybe he ate something bad? _

  
  


Joel went downstairs and poured out a glass of ice water before heading up to the bathroom. The light from the window cast the room in shades of blue and Burnie was thrown in shadow, hunched over the toilet and heaving wetly. 

  
  


“Here,” Joel said softly, setting the water on the floor within easy reach. “Want me to stay?”

  
  


Burnie shook his head and rasped ‘no’ before he started throwing up again. 

  
  


“ Okay. Just yell if you need me.” Joel headed back to the bedroom with a heavy heart. He hated seeing Burnie like that but he really hated when people saw him sick so he could respect that. He crawled back into bed and wondered if he’d eaten the same stuff Burnie had and if they’d be fighting over the toilet soon.  _ Better catch some sleep before that. _

  
  


When he woke up again he did a mental check to make sure he wasn’t sick and he felt fine. He expected to wake up projectile vomiting but instead it was to Burnie squirming back into bed. The other hefted himself over and made a small, pathetic noise.

  
  


“Hey,” Joel whispered, wrapping an arm around him and letting him tuck into his side. He pet through damp copper curls and let his thumb drag along his nape. “Still feeling rough?”

  
  


“Yeah.” The word was a whimper and Joel started to rumble soothingly, Alpha instincts bubbling up to protect his mate even just from an upset stomach. 

  
  


“ Do you think you can sleep? Do you need me to go get you something?”  
  


 

“ Just...stay,” Burnie grunted out. There was no heat in the words, just desperation. Joel tugged him up a little further and let him burrow into his neck, nose skimming below his pulse to take in his clean scent. He could feel Burnie’s hands almost instinctively kneading at his sides, trying to nest to soothe whatever pain he was in.

  
  


“I won’t go anywhere,” Joel mumbled sleepily, brushing a chaste kiss across tight curls. “Promise.’

  
  


The next time Joel woke up it was to small, soft noises. He rubbed the back of his hand over his eyes and rolled out of bed, stretching hard. He started toward the bathroom, thinking Burnie was throwing up again, but the bundle of blankets on the other side of the bed said otherwise. He walked around and saw his friend bundled up in them, only his face showing and it was washed out.

  
  


“Jesus, Michael.” Joel knelt down and felt his forehead and cheeks, cold sweat smearing across his skin. He eased the blanket aside and felt his pulse, frowning at how it was a little slower than it should’ve been. Burnie’s eyes were bleary, lip almost quivering from how bad he was shaking. He sniffed lightly at the man and he could almost taste something sour. He recognized it from botched ruts where Alphas in college would have horrible ruts because of poor diets and too many enhancers, too much caffeine and no sleep mixing into something toxic that destroyed their natural cycle. Instead of finding Beta partners or locking themselves in a dorm to fuck their fists and toys, those Alphas would end up sicker than dogs and useless for days.

  
  


Burnie looked just like they used to.  _ Oh _ . 

  
  


“Your body is fucked up,” Joel stated, trying to hide his exasperation. “Do you get sick like this a lot?”

  
  


“No,” Burnie lied poorly, voice reedy and weak.

  
  


“How often does this happen?”

  
  


“Never.”

  
  


“ For fuck’s sake,” he muttered, brushing back sweat matted curls. “Michael...you look awful. You have to be hurting.”  
  


 

Burnie let out a heavy sigh. “I think something’s really wrong.”

  
  


“Yeah, me too.” Joel leaned in and kissed his forehead. “I’ll get you some water and make some broth, and send an email that you’re not coming in.”

  
  


Burnie nodded, wincing. “My chest hurts.”

  
  


“I’ll try to find a pain killer in the cabinet, maybe something a little more strong,” Joel mulled. “How long do these spells last?”

  
  


Burnie shivered and wrapped the blanket tighter around him. “Couple hours? Joel, I’m really thirsty…”  
  


 

“ Of course, yeah. I’ll be right back.”

  
  


Joel got downstairs and leaned against the sink, breathing out slowly as he tried to shake the image of his lover shaking like a leaf and looking like death warmed over.  _ He needs a hospital. I need to convince him to go soon or this shit is going to tear him apart. His body needs to heal from a sudden bond break, he needs to talk to someone, get hormone treatments...stubborn asshole. _

  
  


o0o0o0o

  
  


Gavin paced the AH office, phone pressed tight to his ear. It was a little noisy since all the guys were in but it was a train wreck in the rest of the office. Someone had brought in a tub of liquor bottles from a family member who had gone sober and everyone had dipped in. Several playful videos were being shot and at least here it smelled like pack and he could try to keep calm as his frustration mounted. He’d been hired for slow motion work for a medium feature film in New Zealand ( _ what the bloody hell is so popular about New Zealand? _ ) and he’d made all the arrangements, talked to all the right people, and went through is usual routine when he got these gigs. 

  
  


Except now his week and a half trip was turning into a two month long job and he didn’t know why. 

  
  


“I can’t do two months,” Gavin explained to the producer, pacing from his desk to the bookshelf of video games and back. The guy was being unreasonably unyielding and snappy and he was starting to get angry. “The tickets and hotel have been booked for a month now. Even if they weren’t, I have another job.”

  
  


He grit his teeth, fingertips whitening on the edges of his phone. Something flew by his head but he ignored it. “It  _ is _ a real job. It’s a primary priority and I agreed to this under the condition that it wouldn’t be anymore than a full week.” 

  
  


He took a long breath and tried to focus his thoughts past the angry rumbles of the Alpha on the phone. But Jeremy, Matt, Josh, and now Aaron were getting rowdy outside the thin walls with what sounded like the big bouncy balls and wails of  _ Don’t Stop Believing.  _

  
  


“I can’t do two months.” Gavin put a finger in his ear to block out Jeremy’s high pitched, silly singing. “Listen. The way it was explained to me, you only need two scenes shot, and you have a more inexperienced cameraman on set right now. You would only need me for two weeks, at most, if just to train him proper.”

  
  


The producer rattled off a list of excuses and it just made his ears burn. 

  
  


“Keeping me for more than two weeks, for more than a week really, is foolish,” Gavin stated calmly but firmly, fingers drumming nervously on the back of his own chair. “It’s a waste of time and money for you.” The other Hunters started to get louder and he dug his finger in harder. “I can do the job just as well in one week as I could if I had a month. All I’d be doing is siphoning money from the main project for two or three altered scenes.”

  
  


He paced between his chair and Jack’s desk, sighing and staring at the floor. Geoff yelled at Ryan about something and he went back to his desk, standing near the door. “I can do the work, I will. But not for that length of time. I wouldn't have agreed if I’d known it was like this.” 

  
  


Gavin could hear someone squealing out in the hall.

  
  


“ Why?” he sputtered out. “Because I have mates I can’t just leave for two months. I have responsibilities, other commitments.” The Alpha on the line made a snide statement that snapped him right down to the core. “It has  _ nothing  _ to do with me being an Omega!” 

  
  


‘ _So you can’t go a month without hanging off your Alpha’s knot? Or do you not have his permission?’_

  
  


He snarled, lip pulling back to show off small fangs. “You can terminate my contract. I won’t have my name anywhere near a project run by bigots and knotheads who can’t get their head out of their arse and see it’s twenty-thirteen, not the the eighteen hundreds. I don’t need an Alpha’s permission to take jobs and I don’t need your money, your attitude, or your bloody movie.”

  
  


The door burst open. “ _ Hold onto that feeling! _ ”  The note drew out and Gavin got splashed in the chest. He yelped and dropped his phone, stumbling back a few times and feeling at himself to make sure it wasn’t hot or something awful. Gavin groaned when he realized it was just water and Jeremy was standing at the door with shades and a big grin, holding a water gun. 

  
  


“ Don’t stop-!”  
  
“ Get the hell out!” Gavin barked, rushing forward and slamming the door in his face. He growled weakly and grabbed a spare merch shirt off the floor, patting at his soaked chest. He looked up and the others were staring at him with varying degrees of concern. He felt like he was under a microscope and he backed up, hitting the door.

  
  


“ Gavin?” Jack asked, standing up. “What happened?”  
  
“ What the hell did that guy say?” Ryan demanded, protective instincts roaring to the surface. Gavin’s mouth opened and closed dumbly and it made him more concerned. “Gavin? Give me his number, I’ll chew out a producer, I don’t care.”

  
  


“Ryan, chill,” Michael said a moment too late.

  
  


Gavin felt an overwhelming swell of tightness in his throat and he groped for the doorknob, twisting it hard and slipping out of the office so quick he barely touched the guys crowded up just outside it. Jeremy went to apologize but the Brit was gone. Ray went to get up, to help, but Michael chittered at him.

  
  


“We got this. Come on, Geoff.”

  
  


Geoff was already on his feet and halfway to the door. “Yeah, he’ll be fine in a minute. You guys keep working.”

  
  


o0o

  
  


Though their company was growing and expanding pretty quickly, there were still a few offices that were used as spares. Fully furnished and ready for people to move in when the time came, they liked to have one or two on standby. Gavin ducked into one and snatched up the roll of paper towels on one of the desks. He ripped off handfuls of it and dabbed angrily at his hoodie, holding it away from his body. He snarled to himself and tried to dab up the water, full of piss and vinegar from the phone call.

  
  


“Bastard,” Gavin growled, accent thick in rage, fingers fisting tight in the soft material (it was one of Michael’s old hoodies and he loved it dearly). “Pissy little pisspot and his stupid bloody knot, like it means anything besides his arse can’t get wet. Git needs a right bugger with a fat knob to loosen him up. Saying crap like that to my face. One thing to say it after the call but-”

  
  


“Are you talking to yourself in here, crazy ass?” Michael joked as he swung open the door, Geoff following close behind him. “Throwing a fit over some knothead?” 

  
  


Gavin pursed his lips and turned away, wiping more at the hoody. “I don’t want to hear it.” 

  
  


Geoff sighed and made sure to lock the door before he went over to plop down in one of the desk chairs. It was sturdy and comfortable, enough to hold two grown men. “Gav, come here.”

  
  


Gavin kept his eyes stubbornly on the fading water stain. He squawked in protest as Michael grabbed him by the arms and walked him backwards towards their Alpha. “Stop it, Michael, I’m not having a laugh. I’m actually angry.”

  
  


“Oh, we know.”

  
  


Geoff snagged him by the hips the moment he was in range and sat him on his lap, letting him wiggle around until he was comfortable. Gavin tried to protest but Michael gave him a swift kiss that shut him up. The other Omega hooked his foot around the rolling leg of another chair and slid it up behind him so he could sit down too, He scooted up but not fully, letting his hands rest on the other’s knees. Geoff hooked his arms around the Omega’s waist and nuzzled at the hinge of his jaw, planting a kiss under his ear and making him coo very delicately. 

  
  


“ Hey,” Geoff puffed along his ear, giving the lobe a tiny nip. “Fuck what that guy said to you. Just because he’s an Alpha does  _ not _ mean he’s right, okay?”  
  


 

“ What did he say exactly?” Michael needled lightly. 

  
  


“He just…” Gavin chittered quietly as his Alpha nibbled below his ear, losing his voice for a moment. “The job was supposed to be for a week, two at most, and they tried to take me for two months. I tried to be reasonable but the second I mentioned mates he turned into a total git. He was already using that knothead tone but then he was just taking shots at me, spouting off how I needed my Alpha’s permission and couldn’t go without a knot for two months because I was an Omega.”

  
  


Geoff’s growl was sudden but still contained, vibrating against his back while lips skimmed over his throat. He melted into the Alpha, lashes falling low as calloused hands slipped under his hoodie and roamed over the bare skin of his stomach and chest. He managed to look at Michael and the Omega was fuming, red faced, but it was also being bottled up. 

  
  


“ Listen to me, Gav.” Geoff nipped at his throat and he shivered. “You’re our mate, but you  _ never  _ have to ask permission from either of us to do anything. You’re your own man, always have been and always will be.”

  
  


“And what he said was gross,” Michael grumbled lowly. 

  
  


“And that we support you, and if you went off on a long job we’d Skype every night, maybe one of us would come with you for part of it,” Geoff continued smoothly. “We’d literally be in your hands the whole time and we’d shoot you porn and you could shoot us some and it’d be pretty frickin’ sweet.” He crushed Gavin in an affectionate hug and loudly kissed his cheek, getting him to smile and wiggle a little. “But it means a fuckton that you would drop this job because it’d take you away from us for way longer than you’d planned.”

  
  


“Gotta’ be prepared and shit to be without our Omega for two months,” Michael tried to laugh but it stuck in his throat. “Shit. We would’ve missed you so bad.”

  
  


“I would’ve missed you guys too,” Gavin admitted, letting his head tip back on the Alpha’s shoulder. “Being away would be hard, but he didn’t respect me at all. That’s the reason I got so angry. He was insistent but when he figured out I was an Omega he treated me like a child, like a mindless bint.”

  
  


“You are so much more than that,” Michael murmured as he leaned forward in the chair, hands coming up to cup his jaw on both sides. His skin was soft and warm and Gavin wanted it on him always, and everywhere. He was gentled into a kiss, barely having to pull away from his Alpha before plush lips slanted across his own. Michael had such addicting kisses - always so tender at first as if reminding him he was loved before consuming him. He got barely a second to completely taste his Omega before inked fingers took his chin and tilted his head back. He whined at being torn from sweet lips but the sound died as Geoff kissed him, firm and taking him like a claim. 

  
  


His mates were an intoxicating combination, like a shot of smooth whisky and then taking a long lick of candy. He loved it.  _ Mine. Both mine. Mates. _

  
  


“He had no right talking to you like that.” Geoff dragged his teeth over the Omega’s lip, getting the faintest coo. “No one gets to talk to my boys like that, not even me. I know you can handle yourself but I want to get on a plane and go kick his ass from New Zealand to here and put him on his knees so he can beg you for forgiveness.”

  
  


Gavin writhed in his lips, hips grinding down and waking up the Alpha’s cock. “Bloody hell, Geoff.” A tug at his fly caught his attention. Michael was grinning cattishly at him, eyes gleaming as he started to work open his jeans with intent. “Michael…”

  
  


“Look at you.” The label on his jeans was tapped. “You’re wearing all my clothes. Got my undies too, Gav?”

  
  


Gavin gasped when the Omega’s fingers snapped at the top of his jock, grin widening. 

  
  


“Guess not,” Geoff breathed against the shell of his ear. “I missed your jocks. Should make you walk around in them and nothing else, Omega.”

  
  


“We’ll make you forget all about that fucker,” Michael promised, fingers hooking in his open jeans and yanking them down. Gavin gasped more loudly as he got a sharp little bite as Michael showed off the dark jock and his lust. The other Omega scooted as close as he could get and started petting over Gavin’s thighs, enjoying the peach fuzz along his hips and how it got thicker, darker, as it spilled between his thighs. 

  
  


Gavin started making fussy noises. “We’re at work.”

  
  


“This is barely work,” Michael snickered as their Alpha rucked up the Brit’s shirt, exposing his furry tummy and the first glimpse of his nipples. Michael’s hands were greedy and they switched, unsure what he wanted to touch more. His fingers caught in the sides of the jock and he tugged it down too, mouth going dry at the sight of Gavin’s cock all ruddy and hard from just some kissing and light petting. He bit his lip and ran his thumb over the foreskin, drawing it down to get the first glimpse of that pretty pink head. Gavin’s sharp noise of surprise made it all the sweeter. “God damn.”

  
  


One of Geoff’s hands snuck under the bunched line of his hoodie to thumb at his nipples and the other pressed against his cheek, turning his head into another strong kiss. Michael watched his mates kiss for a moment before he licked a thick, wet strip on his palm before fisting the other Omega’s cock. Gavin gasped into Geoff’s mouth and pushed into the touch but the Alpha was intent on sliding between his lips, taking his tongue and swallowing all those noises. 

  
  


Michael slid his legs alongside Geoff’s own, closing in their mate and urging those lean thighs apart. He palmed the Omega’s cock at first, enjoying the stutter of his chest as his breaths caught. He loved watching Geoff’s tongue flick between their Omega’s eager lips, easing him into a soft headspace and letting the scent of aroused Alpha fill up the room. Michael caught the sudden musky sweetness and his own breath hitched, fingers reluctantly leaving the Omega’s cock to slide past his scarred sack and down to rub over his hole.

  
  


“Michael!” Gavin mewled cutely, pink cheeked and so tempting. 

  
  


Geoff loved the unpracticed reactions to pleasure his boy had. It wasn’t that they were his firsts, but their bond was strengthening and sensations heightened - the bites and heavy scenting leaving markers that drummed up all sorts of oxytocin. He pinched a dark bud and Gavin twitched, flesh tightening up under his fingertips.

  
  


“What are you doing down there?” Geoff teased, letting his palm rest over the Omega’s throat as he eyed between his legs.

  
  


“Getting some slick.” Michael’s tone was innocent but he sank two fingers into Gavin’s hole and made him squeal, scooping out the gush of slick that came from his dick getting played with. 

  
  


“Boy,” Gavin complained, thighs visibly twitching as he tried to move against his fingers.  

  
  


“You want me to fuck you?” Michael’s voice was close to a rumble as he slid his fingers in further, watching as the rim gave easily like it wanted something thicker. “No, you don’t want me.”

  
  


“I do!” Gavin protested, chewing his lip and trying to rock his hips onto the Omega’s fingers but the position didn’t give him a lot of leverage. Michael leaned in, almost standing as he started kissing firmly along the other Omega’s throat. Gavin squirmed between the hot press of his mates, chirping loudly when soaked fingers fisted his cock again and started a firm, unforgiving rhythm that had him bouncing against the firm bulge of the Alpha’s covered cock. 

  
  


“No, you want Alpha’s dick,” Michael teased with a simmer of heat that only enflamed the Omega more, Geoff’s palm heavy on the boy’s bare hip. Gavin nodded, mouth hanging open in a silent moan as he soaked in their touches. “You want to bounce on it, don’t you? Right here, middle of the office where anyone can smell how much we want each other.” He licked behind the Omega’s ear and could taste the surge of hormones. “You’d like that. Have a whole bunch of Alphas sniffing around, licking at the fucking door wanting to get at your ass.”

  
  


Michael swallowed thickly and panted against the Omega’s throat, pumping his fist faster to make sure he squirmed helplessly. “They’d climb over each other to get one lick at you.”

  
  


“Fuck!” Gavin bucked between them, gripping at them both. “N-No, Geoff, don’t let anyone else…”

  
  


Geoff rumbled soothingly and spread his hand over the boy’s chest, dragging his teeth over the small rise of his scent gland. “Shh, baby. No one but me and your Michael, your mates, okay? No one’s going to touch you. You’re all ours.”

  
  


Gavin went glassy eyed and his head fell back against Geoff’s shoulder, hips rocking messily between them. His slick dripped and smeared all over the Alpha’s jeans. He let out a pathetic stream of  _ please  _ and clung to them, fingers hooking into their shirts and nails trying to bite into their skin. They marked up his throat, Michael still striping his cock and dragging him to the edge. He kneaded at their arms, breaths building up in pitch as he got closer. 

  
  


“Daddy’s got you.” Geoff cupped the front of his throat again, mouthing at his jumping pulse and spilling a hot breath against it. “We’ve got you.”

  
  


The word slipped over his tongue like honey and passed through his teeth, spilling into the air. “ _ Daddy _ .” 

  
  


Gavin choked audibly, whole body going taunt as he started to spurt over Michael’s fist. The other Omega slowed his pace but worked him through with slow, sure strokes. He shook between them, almost coming apart but they kept their hands and mouths on him to ground him. The scent glands tucked under his jaw on each side were kissed and licked at, leaving tiny marks. They whispered reassurances and the doubts that had been buried so deep in Gavin’s mind finally -  _ finally  _ \- broke root and fizzled out. An overwhelming sense of peace washed over him, part from getting off but also from something else he couldn’t name. 

  
  


He felt like he belonged.

  
  


Gavin lazily looped an arm around Geoff’s neck and grabbed a handful of Michael’s shirt, holding them both close. He nosed at them both, chittering softly, getting little sounds in return. 

  
  


“We’re here,” Michael murmured sweetly against his jaw before kissing there. “We’re not going anywhere.” 

  
  


“I know.” Gavin brushed their cheeks with a hum. “I know, boy. Me either.” 

  
  


o0o

“Geoff?”

  
  


Geoff and Michael had left their Omega back in the AH office, after many kisses and soothing pets, and were ready to start inviting their friends over for dinner in person. They decided to hunt down Lindsay together and the gentle call of one of their younger Alphas. They turned around together and Jeremy was catching up to them, looking distressed.

  
  


“Hey, you alright?” Geoff asked, frowning.

  
  


“Is Gavin okay?” Jeremy asked in a rush, looking between them. “I didn’t mean to piss him off, we were just a little drunk and fooling around. Should I apologize…? God, I’m so sorry.”

  
  


“Hey, pup,” Geoff hushed, cupping the younger man’s shoulder with a look of concern. “Don’t worry about it. You were just playing and you didn’t do anything wrong.”

  
  


“Gav was stung a little tight is all,” Michael assured him, hating to see his friend so worked up. “He’s better now.”

  
  


Jeremy looked unsure and Geoff chuckled lowly, dragging him closer to nose at his throat. Jeremy rumbled very quietly, lashes falling low as the older Alpha scented him just enough to help soothe his nerves. Michael stifled a chuckle too and stepped forward, running his nose briefly over Jeremy’s cheek and letting his hand rub down the other’s arm. The Alpha hummed happily between them, the sound mixing with a happy rumble.

  
  


“Is there anything I can do?” Jeremy offered.

  
  


“Yeah, actually.” Geoff pulled back and patted his cheek. “Want to come have dinner this weekend?” 

  
  


The way the young Alpha brightened tugged at the mated pair. Without saying word they both promised themselves that they’d bring their pack into the house more often, cook more dinners, and make more time for the others they loved besides one another. 

  
  


“ You’ve got my number, right J?”  
  


 

Jeremy nodded quickly, smiling ear to ear. “Should I bring something?”

  
  


“Just your appetite, buddy.”

  
  


o0o

  
  


Gavin was a glowing mess of a thing the rest of the day. Michael had taken his hoodie back but given the Brit his bigger, softer zip jacket he’d worn to work that morning. Gavin had melted into it, practically floating back into the office with the dopiest grin on his face. It didn’t leave his face as he edited, recording a Game Fail, and when Jack got back from a late lunch the Brit was still flushed and smiling.

  
  


“Hey Gav,” Jack greeted, smiling at how at ease the Omega looked. “You seem a lot better than this morning.” His nose wasn’t quite as sensitive as other statuses but the Beta knew scent markers when he sniffed it. “Aw, did you and the guys pile up?”

  
“ Jack.” His name was almost mewled. Gavin spun around, knees tucked up to his chest and smile like pure sunshine. The Beta made a low, content noise before plopping down in his chair. He waved off his screensaver and started booting up some editing software, bringing up Twitter to fill in the time it would take to get things running. He heard the Omega shuffling closer but was still surprised when overly warm hands settled on his shoulders and slid down to his chest, crossing over one another. Gavin draped on him, purring deep in his chest and rubbing his scent into his scruffy cheek.

  
  


“Hey there,” he said more softly, reaching up and ruffling the Brit’s hair. “You smell happy and mated.”

  
  


“I am,” Gavin sighed with a light, airless joy that made the Beta’s heart ache in a good way. Whatever had happened today, he knew his friend was marked and something had finally sealed in place. He’d been so worried for so long for his friends and now it felt good, it felt right. 

  
  


“Jack, come to dinner soon.” Gavin pawed at him a little, full weight resting on the Beta’s chair. “I miss having you over. We’ve been kinda’ keeping to ourselves, yeah?” He nosed at the man’s shoulder. “I miss you. Geoff misses you too.”

  
  


“Geoff what?” said Alpha pushed open the door and he had the same joyful flush on his cheeks. Michael trailed behind, looking radiant, and Jack’s heart warmed for them all. 

  
  


“Geoff,” Gavin chirped, nuzzling into Jack’s soft hair and making him laugh. “I want to have a pack dinner. You and Michael and I all cook and have everyone over.”

  
  


“That sounds tippity-toppers,” Geoff’s voice cracked and he fell into his own chair, a crooked grin curling his lips. “We should do it this weekend. I’ll start marinating the meat tonight.”

  
  


Gavin swung around and crawled into the Beta’s lap, chittering softly as if asking for permission. Jack gave a low hum back and wrapped his arms around his waist, getting an excited noise before he was clung to. Gavin fit nicely against him, slotting in snug and wrapping his long limbs all around. Jack scrubbed his cheek against the other and squeezed him.

  
  


“Jack,” he said again, simple and grateful.

  
  


“I’m here,” Jack whispered, smiling more as the Brit breathed deeply against his pulse to catch great gulps of his scent. “You’re just floating a little, huh? Mates a little overwhelming?”

  
  


“No, m’fine,” Gavin slurred, tongue darting out to drag lightly across his skin. “Mm, but, I want a special lunch for just us.” He was a little hazy but the sentiment was there and true. “Geoff and Michael and us. It sounds lovely, right?”

  
  


“ It does,” Jack promised, rubbing his palm along the Omega’s back. “We’ll do it tomorrow, how does that sound?”  
  
Gavin slumped into him, truly purring. “Perfect. Good.”

  
  


Geoff’s smile faltered. “I guess we’ve been shitty friends lately, Jack.”

  
  


“No way,” Jack assured him, still rubbing the boy’s back to feel the faint vibrations. “You guys needed to focus on yourselves. I’ve been spending a lot of time with Ray, and some of the other single Omegas. They need a strong Beta and we don’t have a lot of those around here. Josh is great but, you know.”

  
  


“Betas are always in high demand,” Geoff finished. “We need you guys more than anything to keep us all from losing our heads. We need you most, Jack. Look at him.”

  
  


Gavin was drifting, dark eyed and smiling, marked from his mates and cuddled close to his main Beta. 

  
  


Michael chirped, not jealous but needy. “Can I maybe get in on that…?”

  
  


Jack felt a swell of pride and gently shook the Omega by the hip. “Hey, Gav, let’s go to the couch and get your Michael?”  
  


 

“ Michael?” Gavin cooed, loosening his hold a little. “Yeah, yeah, let’s get everyone.”

  
  


Geoff rumbled happily and watched the Beta herd his two boys over to the couch. They curled up on either side and tucked their faces into his neck, nuzzling at his beard. Geoff watched Jack light up, wrapping arms around them both and keeping them close. Soft Omega sounds met his ears and it was like music.

  
  


“Hey. You, uh, got room for one more?”

  
  


“Get in here.”

  
  
  
  


 


	77. Ryan and Ray XV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryan and Ray take another step together.  
> aka: the first time Ray plays with Ryan's dick

Ray couldn’t stop thinking about Ryan’s dick. Maybe it was hormones or just curiosity or because Ryan was one of the most interesting people he’d ever known so every aspect about him seemed fascinating. Maybe because he was pretty much in love with the guy and sex was something he’d never really wanted so much before. He remembered the brand of boxer briefs Ryan always wore with that strange name, the ones he saw whenever they stripped and scented at home.

  
  


So he finally looked it up. SAXX.

  
  


Ray gaped at the reviews. The brand was famous for well endowed guys, a real Alpha kind of a brand. Suddenly, all the Omega could think of was what Ryan looked like. Besides porn, he’d never seen an Alpha cock up close and had never quite cared about it before. Now it was at the forefront of his mind and he wondered if it was more thick than long. How it stood up to the porn he’d seen, if it was ruddy or if it had a thick head or how big his knot was.

  
  


Ray closed out of the tab and buried his face in his hands, groaning. _Great, now I’m fucking horny._

  
  


He perked up, breaking into a grin as he remembered he had a whole box of toys. He still needed to send Lindsay a proper thank you for them, maybe even a new strap on. _Well that image is doing nothing to kill my boner._

  
  


o0o

  
  


Ray often got wrapped up in strange conversations at work but he got so much free food that he didn’t mind hanging around and eating while listening to ridiculous debates. Today Michael had supplied burgers while Geoff and Jack had gone on a little bro-date. Ryan was in a mood that his boyfriend could only describe as delightful and he was almost humming as he ate, reading an article on his computer and happily oblivious to the raunchy conversation around him.

  
  


“I wasn’t pro-piercing before this, but Geoff’s really turned me on it,” Gavin stated between fries. “I couldn’t imagine an Alpha knob without one now. Seems sort of right?”

  
  


“I think you’re just spoiled because it basically screams to be sucked on,” Michael pointed out. “Oral fixation all the way.”

  
  


Gavin pouted and Ray put on his best dramatic drawl. “One day, Free, you’ll get throat fucked. One day.”

  
  


“It’s bloody hard!” Gavin squawked. “There’s nothing sexy about nearly puke up all over your mate.”

  
  


Michael barked out a laugh. “True.”

  
  


Gavin shot him a grin. “And it’s so damn easy to suck down your cute little nub, boy.”

  
  


Michael’s ears burned but his smile only got bigger. “Yeah, and you like it down there.”

  
  


Gavin leaned over and grabbed his chin, dragging him into a kiss that lingered, lips brushing as he whispered. “Lovely little home between those thighs, love.”

  
  


“Gay,” Ray snickered before shoving some fries in his mouth.

  
  


Once Michael bit Gavin’s lower lip to a cherry red, he turned his attention to Ryan with that glint in his eyes. “So Rye - you a grower or a show-er?”

  
  


Ryan swiveled around in his chair, straw between his lips and baby blues wide in curiosity. Ray thought he looked preciously young and he wanted to go over and sit in his lap, kiss him a little and smooth his hair. But he resisted and waited for the answer, ready to reconstruct the fantasy dick he’d been daydreaming about. He had no idea the Alpha was struggling a little with the question, trying to figure out what they were talking about without Googling it.

  
  


“No, I...don’t grow?” Ryan answered hesitantly, frowning just a little. “This is as tall as I’ll ever be? I’m just guessing what you’re talking about.”

  
  


Ray ducked his head. He could vividly remember every time he felt his boyfriend’s cock through his jeans, the few times Ryan’s control had slipped and rubbed his hard on against him. He thought maybe Ryan would be a shower, he always seemed to be thick. The other Lads cackled at the Alpha’s response, clutching their sides and rocking in their chairs.

  
  


“Effing hell,” Gavin rasped out as he tried to catch his breath. “No, you dolt.”

  
  


“Your dick, man,” Michael specified, gesturing at his crotch. “When you get hard - do you grow or are you always showing?”

  
  


“Oh.” The straw popped noisily out from between the man’s lips. “ _Oh._ Well, uh.” He darted his eyes to Ray. “I guess I ‘show’ for the most part but there’s an inch or two that comes out.” He snorted at his own joke.

  
  


Gavin’s eyebrows shot up in interest and Michael flashed his Omegan fangs. “How much heat are we talking here?”

 

  
“Michael, come on,” Ryan tried to brush off, turning back to his computer.

  
  


“Give us a ballpark,” Michael urged.

  
  


“Yeah, Rye, tell us a figure,” Gavin needled, loving the way Ray tried to pretend he wasn’t listening.

  
  


“You big pervs,” Ryan scoffed with a little pink to his cheeks. “Like I’d tell you.”

  
  


“Why not?” Gavin pushed more, batting his lashes at the Alpha despite the fact that he wasn’t looking. “We won’t tell anyone.”

  
  


Ryan snorted. “Except everyone. No thanks.”

  
  


Michael scoffed and slumped into his chair. “Okay okay, whatever you say. Ray’s going to tell us anyway when you finally let him see that di-ack.”

  
  


Ray slammed his palm into his face so hard it knocked his glasses painfully into his nose. “Guys.”

  
  


“It’s true though,” Gavin added with a shrug. “He knows all about Geoff’s knob.”

  
  


Ryan visibly flinched and Michael smirked at the little chink in his armor. “Yeah, we tell him everything. He’s going to be a real pro by the time you two finally get busy.” Gavin punctuated that statement with a bunch of Geoff-esque cock-gagging sounds, making a crude motion that made Ryan look away just out of second hand embarrassment.

  
  


“Can we get some work done before I die of old age?” Ray asked loudly, face still in his hand. “Please?”

  
  


Michael briefly stuck out his tongue. “Fine! You’re off the hook this time, dickhead. But eventually you two are gonna’ fuck.”

  
  


Gavin leaned so far back in his chair it creaked, hands folded behind his head. “And it’s going to be bloody _explosive_. Once you two start shagging I can’t imagine you’ll be able to stop.”

  
  


Ray buried his blush in his hands and Ryan hid a pleased smile at the thought of being so good to his Omega he didn’t want to leave.

  
  


o0o0o0o

  
  


Realistically, they’d only been together for a few months, but it’d felt much longer. It was like Rooster Teeth was a time warp, every couple in the company would say the same. Geoff would often laugh and say he could hardly remember a time he didn’t have Michael or Gavin in his life, and feeling like he’d been in love with them both since day one. Ryan had been in Ray’s life for more than a year and they haven’t been together for long but everything felt so deep, so real, and _strong_.

  
  


So Ray often wondered, with their obvious chemistry, how had they not fallen in bed the day they met?

 

 

Ray clawed hard at Ryan’s shoulders, glasses somewhere on the floor along with his shorts and underwear. His shirt was rucked up to his chest, sweat building at the base of his spine and along his thighs as his hips worked. Ryan was above him watching like a starving hawk, hand buried between the Omega’s legs and working two fingers against the soft pleasure spot inside him. It was a nice, slow fingering that was driving Ray crazy. He had his legs hiked up around the Alpha’s waist and was rocking into him as best he could, head tossing on the couch as he tried to deal with how fucking _good_ it felt.

  
  


Their date had started with Ryan making them a good meal and they’d wound down with a movie, some cuddling that had turned handsy, some kissing, and then they got a little lost. He’d teased Ryan a bit about being a grower or a shower, having a good laugh as his boyfriend got flustered. Eventually the Alpha snapped and pinned him down.

  
  


Ryan had stripped him down and laid wet kisses down his throat and over his stomach, nipping along his stomach and leaving red marks over his thighs. The bastard had licked over his cock and forced out horribly embarrassing sounds while massaging over his hole, expertly playing his body until he started to slick.

  
  


He was skillfully coaxing an orgasm out of him and he kind of hated how good he was at this.

  
  


Ryan groaned as blunt nails scraped hard over his throat, holding his breath and working his fingers more firmly against that gland as Ray started to come. His mate (God, he still wasn’t used to that word) was so hot and tight around his fingers, clenching around them, milking them like he could get a knot from them. He wanted to bury his tongue in that sweet clutch, to taste all that wonderful slick, but Ray still had a hair trigger and he wanted his boy to have pleasure more than he wanted to play.

  
  


One day they’d build up some stamina and not be so overwhelmed by the slightest contact. They were grown men but they’d been so starved for each other for long, dancing around each other for far too long without more than a few kisses. He needed this, and by the heavy spurt of the Omega’s cock and the blissful expression on his face told him Ray needed it just as much.

  
  


They caught in a kiss as Ray came down from his high, tongues tangling and soft moans drifting between them. Ryan was careful as he eased his fingers out, breaking away from Ray’s sweet mouth to lap at his own fingers instead. It was so savory sweet and he loved it, couldn’t get enough of it.

  
  


“You’re fucking filthy,” Ray laughed, cheeks rosy as he half covered his face. Ryan nuzzled into his hand until he could reach his lips again, kissing him. They smiled against each other and pulled away reluctantly, the Alpha sitting back and running his fingers through his hair. Watching Ryan trying to regain composure like that was one of Ray’s favorite things, the Alpha all ruddy cheeked and panting and ruffled. It was adorable and hot. And his pants were straining with need.

  
  


“So, why don’t you whip it out?” Ray teased light heartedly.

  
  


Ryan’s mouth dropped open. “What?”

  
  


Ray reached out boldly and cupped his covered cock, feeling nervous but determined. “Come on. You haven’t even let me see it.”

  
  


Ryan floundered. “It’s just a dick.”

  
  


“But it’s _your_ dick,” Ray insisted.

  
  


Ryan sat back properly on the couch and suppressed a whine at the lack of contact. Messing around with Ray always worked him up and with the way the other was looking at him he wouldn’t be able to sneak away to the bathroom to take care of himself. They’d seen all of each other except this last bit, it wasn’t such a big deal anymore now that they knew intentions. He sighed and spread his knees a little, patting his lap. “Get up here, then.”

  
  


“Fuck yes!” Ray laughed, scrambling to get to his feet and tug on his boxers. He didn’t care about the cum and slick staining them, all he knew was that he was going to get what he wanted. he crawled into Ryan’s lap and perched himself on the man’s knees to keep out of his way. He leaned in for a biting, rough kiss before he sat back for the show.

  
  


“This isn’t exactly how I pictured this going,” Ryan admitted as he unbuckled his belt and started working on his fly.

  
  


“If we did it your way we’d be married before I ever got my mouth on you.”

  
  


They both got a little blushy at that but Ryan’s hands worked faster. Their breaths picked up as pheromones clogging the air grew thicker, coating their lungs and making their hearts race. Ryan pushed his pants down mid-thigh and with an audible noise of hesitation he hooked his thumbs in his boxers and pushed them as well. He almost couldn’t look as Ray ate him up with his eyes.

  
  


Ray blatantly stared and ate up every detail. His hair was much darker as it trailed down his stomach, almost reddish gold curls growing thick around his cock and between his thighs (Ray so badly wanted to pet through it). The cock wasn’t obscene and he was relieved for that but it had a nice thickness to it. The length was _definitely_ impressive, way bigger than his own and probably about as long as Michael had described of Geoff’s dick. _So he is a grower._ Ray’s gaze zeroed right on the fat, bell head that was shiny with pre. Plump, dark, a crown of sorts on a nice shaft. As crude as it was, he just wanted to suck the hell out of it.

  
  


Ryan watched his omega’s eyes go glassy and tongue dart out to wet shapely, pink lips. With a small sniff he realized Ray was still wet, reslicking at just the sight of him. It was flattering and he could feel himself throbbing, trying not to touch himself as his cock really filled out. Ray panted as he watched the cock fatten up another full inch before the tiniest drop of pre swelled up.

  
  


“Can I touch…?” Ray asked, a little out of his element but wanting.

  
  


“Yeah.” Ryan’s voice was low and threatening to break. “Whatever you want.”

  
  


Ray let himself explore. When his fingers brushed against it, Ryan hissed at the contact.

  
  


“Sensitive,”

  
  


“Shut up.”

  
  


Ray drew his hand back to lick his palm before touching it again. The skin was so hot, hotter than his own it seemed, and his fingers curled nicely around it. Solid, alive, and he tore his eyes away from the cock to watch Ryan biting his lip and watching from beneath his lashes. His fingers traced the swell below the head and dipped under the edge, biting his lip as he felt the spongy tip. It was so smooth and when he brushed through the drop of wetness it made it shine. Ryan’s breath was noisy but he couldn’t look away now. Ray squeezed the head and he keened in the back of his throat as it dripped, his own hole clenching and letting out a fat drop of slick that soaked into his boxers. His fist worked down the length and he imagined how it would feel compared to his toys. Ryan’d be so much more warm and yielding, the defined head dragging inside him, and the slight curve could only feel amazing pressing in deep.

  
  


_Fuck, this is really happening._

  
  


Ray slowly jerked him off, just feeling the shape and getting used to touching someone else. There was a bit of a power trip with this, He found he liked it - pumping Ryan’s cock, listening to him choke down moans and feeling him squirm helplessly. His cock was thrumming in Ray’s palm, so heavy and ready. He squeezed near the base where the flesh was more firm and sucked in a breath.

  
  


He couldn’t look up when he asked. “How big is your knot?”

  
  


“Kinda’ big,” Ryan huffed out. “I-It grew faster than the rest of me, popped first. Everything else took a while to catch up.”

  
  


Ray rubbed all along it until it started to plump up, straining against his fingers. Ryan’s hands dug into the chair and he grit his teeth, fangs flashing. “Does it feel good, Rye?” The man nodded, hips shifting against the couch. He caught that dark gaze and kept it, keeping his pace slow so he could feel everything.

  
  


“Fuck, why haven’t we been doing this the whole time?” Ray muttered, thumbing at the front of the head and marveling at how Ryan’s chest jumped from a heavy breath. He wanted to push the Alpha’s shirt up and splay a hand over his face, toy with his nipples a little to make him shiver. “Do you have any lube?”

  
  


Ryan’s eyes popped wide open.

  
  


“I want you to jerk off for me.” Ray bit the side of his lip, both of them going a little red. “Please? I want to see how you get yourself off.”

  
  


“Fuck,” Ryan panted out. He awkwardly dug into his jeans and fished out his wallet, flipping it open with one hand and knocking a packet of lube out of the billfold. Ray let go and tried not to bounce his way right off his lap. The way Ryan ripped the corner off the packet with his teeth was surprisingly hot and he felt his own dick twitch in interest. It ran clear over his cock and Ray wet his lips as he watched goosebumps cropped up over his furred thighs.

  
  


“Nervous?” Ray teased lightly.

  
  


Ryan bit onto the challenge and grinned. “Nope,”

  
  


Ray’s mouth dropped open as Ryan started fisting his cock, confident and sure as he moved just how he liked it. It was stunning and surreal to see another guy jerk off so close to his own dick and Ray stared openly. He watched the knot slowly grow but he knew it wasn’t nearly as fat as it would be if it was buried in a tight hole. A fist wouldn’t be enough to make it swell fully but it was already impressive.

  
  


Ryan was staring at him with such heat and, from how red his cock was, how tight his balls were, it looked like he was creeping up on the edge. But it wasn’t enough. Ray was done watching, observing, letting his Alpha do all the work and lead the way. He eased out of Ryan’s lap and kneeled on the floor between his legs, sitting up high. Ryan barely had a moment to gasp before the Omega had braced his hands on his thighs and leaned down to kiss the tip of his cock. It was silky smooth under his lips and he gave it a long kiss, laving hotly over the tip to taste him. It was bitter and musky and it felt like a hormone shot straight to his core. His hole and cock throbbed and he sucked harder, moaning around the head.

  
  


Ryan was cursing under his breath and his thighs were like steel under the Omega’s palms. Ray looked up and felt such a rush at how lost Ryan looked, how desperate and hungry his eyes were. The man was still pumping his cock, raising his hand so his knuckles brushed just shy of Ray’s lips. It felt filthy and wrong and _hellfire_ hot so Ray took the full head in his mouth and licked to his heart’s content. It was firm and warm, he wouldn’t mind doing this all night and if he didn’t know that Ryan was on a fast track to spilling, he’d stay down here until he got hard again so he could jerk off while he sucked.

  
  


Fingers brushed through his hair and he wanted them to _yank_.

  
  


“Ray, I’m…”

  
  


“Do it,” Ray breathed across the swollen flesh. He went back to suckling, making sure to keep some kind of rhythm and not suck too hard. He’d read about this sort of thing, seen it in porn, had felt it when Ryan did it to him. Judging by the way the Alpha’s snarls were mixing up into his moans, Ray was doing just fine. Those strong thighs jumped under his palms and he could feel Ryan trying not to fuck his mouth as he stroked faster, with a sort of punishing rhythm that came from pure pent up lust.

  
  


Ray loved this. _I love him. Fuck me, I love all of it._

  
  


Ryan’s fingers tightened in his hair and he moaned, and then a rush of heat poured over his tongue. Ray happily swallowed, a rough little purr shaking in his chest as he tasted the Alpha completely. Ryan made a noise almost like a jungle cat, low and satisfied, whole body rolling into the Lad’s mouth as pure pleasure poured through him. He was strained tight and then went lax, licking his lower lip and drawing it between his teeth as he watched Ray swallow the last of his cum and pull off the head.

  
  


Ray eyed the Alpha’s knot and rubbed himself through his shorts at the sight of the swell, impatient to see how fat it could really get. Ryan sat up and loomed over him, making the Omega chitter and blink up at him. He thought he’d done something wrong by the serious look but then he saw the fire in those blue eyes, the hungry glint of a fang between his lips. Ryan snagged his jaw in his rough palm and dragged his head up, thumb below his lip.

  
  


“Open.”

  
  


Ray parted his lips and got a firm, deep kiss that stole his breath. The taste of Alpha passed between them and it was strangely hot, like most things they did together. Their tongues slid together in a slow dance and when they parted it was with a wet little _smack_.

  
  


“You have a beautiful mouth,” Ryan muttered, thumb grazing over his lip. “You’re perfect.”

 

 

“You’re dick drunk,” Ray scoffed with a smile. “Good?”  
  


 

Ryan gave a playful little snarl and kissed him again. “Better than. You’re amazing. Round two?” He eyed the Omega’s little lump. “Let me return the favor.”

 

  
“We’re going to have to shower or we’re going to be glued together in the morning.”

 

  
“We can shower together.”

 

  
“Mr. Haywood, you have the best ideas.”

  
  


“I try. Get up here.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	78. Team Lads/Team Panty Raid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Lads take a trip to Victoria's Secret. Ray's late on his first heat and it turns out the Omega has been worried about it. Bonding time for all. (special guest appearance by figurativelynsfw with snapchat fanart which was drawn way before writing so I basically wrote off the pics!)

**All the lovely fanart was done last year by[figurativelynsfw ](http://figurativelynsfw.tumblr.com/)when we as bois couldn't stop just smuttin' around about this fic. Them and king-rye-bread basically wrote this chapter, and figurativelynsfw did all the art and has been cool about me holding onto it this long. I'm planning on posting a chapter of just their art, fanart from chapters long past that you guys haven't seen and would get a kick out of. I know they won't read this chapter, pretty busy doing their own thing, but this is for you boi. Stay tuned for a link to their post on their blog with all the snapchats**

**BTW: We're in linear timeline (for certain) from chapter 70 and onward**

* * *

 

 

Michael was snickering and Ray only tolerated it for so long before he finally looked away from the TV. Gavin was sprawled on the floor in front of him playing an app on his phone and Michael had his feet kicked up on the coffee table just a bit further down the couch from him. He was on his phone. They were enjoying their Saturday off  with a Lads Day. Ray left the raid and shucked off his headphones to try and look at the other Omega’s phone.

  
  


It was himself in those stockings, pictures stolen from the day of the dare.

  
  


Ray sighed dramatically and rolled his eyes. “Why do you have those?”

  
  


Michael shrugged and kept flipping through the stolen photos. “You look cute.”

  
  


“You’re making fun of me, you fuck.”

  
  


“I’m _really_ not,” Michael scoffed. “It was super fucking cool and your legs aren’t even that long and they were bitchin’.”

  
  


“It’s true, love,” Gavin assured him, phone dropping uselessly to his chest. “Very fit.”

  
  


“It was terrible!” Ray lied. “I had to shave everywhere and it was such a bitch of an itch to grow back. I felt stupid.”

  
  


“Bullshit,” Michael muttered.

  
  


“Just imagine if you had to wear women’s underwear, X-Ray!” Gavin teased with a laugh. “At least you didn’t have to do that.”

  
  


“Well,” Ray paused thoughtfully. “No one would’ve seen me wear it under those shorts so I don’t think it would’ve been a lot different.”

  
  


“But it would’ve been strange, yeah?” Gavin’s voice trailed off, brows knit up in thought. He imagined himself wearing those kinds of clothes, stockings and such, and maybe more. Panties weren’t far from jocks and he loved those, loved how thin they were along his hips to accentuate them in a way that made him feel desirable. How different could girls underwear be?

  
  


Ray had the same thoughtful look with similar ideas. “Maybe. It’d be tighter, I guess. But generally that stuff is pretty soft, right? That wouldn’t be horrible.” He laughed, mostly to himself. “Ryan wears those shit shoes and the same five shirts but he actually invests in really good underwear. He keeps trying to buy me new ones because mine are all old.”

  
  


Gavin made some quip but Michael didn’t hear it over the roar of his sudden idea. He sat up, a grin breaking out over his face. He did a quick search on his phone and his grin widened. The other Lads started chatting about something else entirely but he was focused, lit up from within. “What if we did it?”

  
  


Gavin let out a surprised laugh. “What, love?”

  
  


“What if we just fucking did it?” Michael insisted. “We’re adults, we have our own hard earned money-”

  
  


“Well, let’s not use strong words like 'hard earned'.”

  
  


“-in the fucking _bank_ , let’s _go_!”

  
  


Michael jumped to his feet and the other Lads laughed, unsure.

  
  


“What are you going on about, love?”

  
  


“Let’s just do it!” Michael pumped his fists, looking ridiculous with that giant grin plastered all over his face. “Let’s go buy some fucking panties!”

  
  


o0o

  
  


Michael drove the Lads to the nearest mall and they found the Victoria’s Secret nestled at the far back of it, flanked by an empty space and a Christian bookstore of all things. They were on their way down the hall, footsteps clicking loudly off the shiny white tile, but their chatter thinned as they came up closer to the store. Ray’s sneakers squeaked in a dead stop and the others paused.

  
  


“X-Ray?”

  
  


Ray chewed at his lower lip. “What if someone finds out?”

  
  


Gavin snorted. “Since when have you ever gave a toss about that?”

  
  


Michael saw the nervousness in their young Omega and he walked over to him, taking one of his hands in both of his. The touch was comforting but it still felt like his ribs were shaking. “Listen. This has fucking _nothing_ to do with anyone else, this is about you - about _us_ , looking hot, and showing off to the Alphas who are lucky enough to fuck us.”

  
  


Michael’s grin was filthy and it cut through some of Ray’s nerves, a smile tugging his own lips. “But aren’t we kind of perpetuation Omega stereotypes?”

 

 

  
“Nah,” Michael assured easily. “We’re doing what we want, like Lads do, and right now that means buying some cool lacy shit and taking raunchy selfies.”

  
  


“You are fucked up,” Ray laughed out as he was tugged forward. “I love it.”

  
  


“And I know we’ll look hot, Omega or not,” Gavin assured, coming up to take his other fan and urge him closer to the store.

  
  


“And no one’s going to say anything to us,” Michael added confidently. “One thing about playing into the stereotype is that they’re going to leave us the fuck alone and let us browse without crawling up our ass.”

  
  


Ray relaxed under Michael’s words, as he always had. Since they started talking over Xbox, Michael had been able to weave a spell over him. Make him laugh, calm him down, rile him up - he was a sucker for the Omega’s mouth. They’d meshed since the first day they’d met and they’d always be close, knit together, and stuff like this only proved it.

  


  
  


The store was bright and pastel, packed with delicate clothing from floor to ceiling. There were a thousand choices and the Lads were kind of dazzled, at least for a few moments. Gavin and Michael ran in opposite directions and dove right in, wrist-deep in discount panties before anyone could think twice. Ray, however, was a bit more hesitant. He wandered over to a sectioned display of panties and looked them all over, trying to think about what he’d like (if anything). He picked up a neon green and pink pair with stars and stretched them, testing the material. He liked the shade of green and his mind was whirling with what colors would look good on him.

  
  


  
  


 

Gavin flagged one of the floor girls down. She was stunning - dark, flawless complexion and long dark curls that led down to mile long legs. He gave her his most charming smile and fluttered his lashes a little in a way that made a curl of Alpha musk cut through her perfume.

  
  


“Hello, love,” he purred, leaning against the counter with a thong hooked around his finger.

  
  


“Sir.” She smiled, plum colored lips parting in an intoxicating smile. Her nametag read _Monica_. “How can I help you today?”

  
  


“How many things can we take off to the changing rooms?”

  
  


“Four.” Monica’s smile turned into a full blown grin. “But, if you boys all go in together, that makes a dozen.”

  
  


Gavin’s surprise wiped away his flirty expression. “Oi, you’d let us do that?”

 

 

  
She shot him a wink. “Why not?”  
  


 

Gavin pushed his sunglasses up into his hair and beamed. If he’d had a tail it would’ve been wagging. “Thank you, darling.”

  
  


“I’ll be in the waiting room, boys.” Monica looked between the Omegas, the other two having crept closer. “Feel free to pick out anything, anything at all.”

  
  


She walked away and three sets of eyes followed the sway of her hips, the long lines of strong calves, and they sniffed softly at the air to take in the bit of Alpha scent.

  
  


“Holy shit,” Michael muttered, lids heavy as he watched her disappear through a high stack of baby doll dresses. “Texas has some hot fucking Alphas, I’ve always said that.”

  
  


“Stunning.” Gavin cleared the husk out of his voice, leaning against the other Lad when he came up behind him. A warm hand cupped his waist and he purred briefly, teeth raking over his lip. “In another life, love, we would’ve asked for her number.”

  
  


Michael pressed his lips to his Omega’s ear and kept his voice low, fingers digging into him. “You would love for some hot Alpha knotting the bottom of your dick, huh boy?”

  
  


Gavin turned around and wrapped his arms around him, brushing their mouths. “You’re plenty to wet my knob, boy. You and our Alpha, more than enough to satisfy me.”

  
  


“You bet your sweet ass we are.” Michael grabbed him tight and kissed him hard, laying a small claim in the busy store. Gavin’s sweet little chitter made Ray fidget, trying not to stare. Hands started to wander and he sighed heavily.

  
  


“Guys!”

  
  


They pulled away reluctantly and they both were wearing Geoff’s patented “dopey” grin. Ray let them to it, turning around and pushing through another discount pile. The mates brushed noses and stole a few more chaste kisses before something in a pile of three-for-twenty caught his eye. He pulled away from Michael and snagged up a small, blue bra with lacy design. It was rough under his fingers but there were others in the store to choose from. This one just gave him the naughty idea.

  
  


“What about these, boy?” Michael’s eyes sparkled at the sight of it. “Think maybe we could find some flat ones without cups? They’d be bloody gorgeous on you.”

  
  


“You wanna’ put me in a bra, Gavvers?” Michael teased, already enjoying the idea of playing around with more than panties.

  
  


“Something thin and lacy, so I can see your pretty nips,” Gavin murmured, dragging a blush out of the other Omega. Michael pulled out his phone and gaze it a wave.

  
  


“Why don’t we show Geoff and let him decide?”

  
  


  
  


“Pick four out, Ray, come on. They have two for ten over here that look our size so let’s load up.”

  
  


Ray dropped the pair he was nervously clinging to. “Are we seriously buying something?”

  
  


Michael snort laughed. “Fuck yeah, if we like it. Why the hell not?”

  
  


Ray’s stomach went tight and hot as he imagined this kind of stuff laying around his apartment. Wearing it to work, out to lunch with Ryan, by himself playing video games - it made him hotter than it should have. “Yeah, okay, let me just...find something.”

  
  


o0o

  
  


Michael got a dressing room for them with his stash already wadded up in his chest. Monica directed him to the farthest one in the area, tucked into the back corner. She gave him a wink and he wanted to sit up and beg, maybe roll over a bit, but only in the passing way where she was just so damn beautiful. He ducked into the spacious cubicle and was glad the light wasn’t too awful, especially with one wall being a full mirror. There was a shelf on the opposite wall and hooks to hang stuff all over. He dropped his panties on the shelf and sorted through them, picking up a white pair with a thick pink lace band that matched the same shade of pink as his shirt. He stripped off his jeans and kicked away his shoes, hooking his thumb in the waistband of his boxers without hesitation and throwing them aside.

  
  


He stepped into the panties and was careful pulling them up his legs because they fit tight already. He palmed his dick around until it was comfortable enough and then let the waistband rest on his hips. The material bit into his skin a little and the material seemed to get buried between his thighs. Though he’d trimmed up and hit the gym a lot more than he used to, he couldn’t seem to shed the baby fat from his legs. He didn’t mind though, it was in his Omega biology to carry weight around his waist and ass.

  


 

 

There was a small knock and he boldly whipped open the door to see a stunned Gavin holding a wad of panties. Wide, pretty eyes sparkled with desire before the Brit stepped in and all but slammed the door shut, sliding the latch. “Beautiful boy.”

  
  


Michael preened as one of his mate’s hands untangled from the panties to pet over his hip. He enjoyed the heated stare for a few moments before he tugged at the bundle of fabric. “What did you bring?”

  
  


Gavin handed them over and the other Omega let them pile on the shelf next to his own selection, digging through them. He pulled out the smallest pair - string sides, white, and with a heavy floral print. They looked a lot like a jock but actually had some material over the ass. “Put these on.”

  
  


Gavin flashed him a cattish grin before starting on the fly of his jeans. Shoes, pants, and tiny briefs were all shucked off. He grabbed the panties and bent over, carefully stepping into each leg hole. They weren’t even halfway up his calves before his shoulders were grabbed. He was easily spun around and slammed into the wall hard enough to make it rattle. Gavin stifled a surprised sound and settled on a low purr, arching invitingly under his love’s hands. His cheek pressed to the wall and his grin returned full force as Michael fit up behind him. Sharp teeth dragged over his nape and a playful Omega growl tickled his skin. Michael grabbed the thin side straps and slowly dragged them up the long line of his legs. The air there was dark at the calves but grew thin and golden as it went up, thick curls between his thighs but pretty peach fuzz on his cheeks. Long, tan fingers curled against the wall as he felt Michael’s hands glide up all the way to set the straps on the crest of his hips.

  
  


Gavin bit his lip at the warm, firm sensation of Michael tucking him his plump cock in the small sling of the underwear. “Trying to get me revved up, love?”

  
  


“Gotta’ make sure these things fit even when you’re all fucking horny at work like usual,” Michael snarked, giving the cockhead a light pinch to watch goosebumps break out over the Brit’s thighs and listen to his choked moan.

  
  


“Only because you can’t keep your hands off me.”

  
  


Michael rutted up against his ass and they both gasped at the silky soft glide the panties made. It was new and fresh and they could’ve easily finished like that, dry humping in the dressing room. Michael hissed a breath through his teeth before nipping the other Omega’s neck. “How am I supposed to when you look so fucking hot all the time?”

  
  


Michael managed to peel himself away with a groan. They shared a quick kiss before looking more carefully through each other’s panties. Gavin pulled out a pair of robin’s egg blue and cooed over it. “Boy, these are lovely.”

  
  
  


There was a timid knock at the door. Gavin opened it up carefully and it was Ray there. The Lad was holding his four stack of panties very neat and folded in his palm and it was strangely endearing. He tugged Ray inside and spotted Monica watching them with a pleased smile. He shot her a wink before shutting and latching the door again.

  
  


“These are nice,” Michael remarked, plucking up the pile and thumbing through them.

  
  


“More than nice, X-Ray,” Gavin assured, brushing their shoulders. The third Lad was looking between them both and it made the Brit smile. He turned and flicked the line of his panties with a wink. “Looking good so far, yeah?”

  
  


“Yeah,” Ray replied, a little warm and dizzy from all of it.

  
  


Gavin took a pair of lime green undies with lace and a simple pattern, holding them out for the Lad. “Try them on!”

  
  


Ray nodded reluctantly and gestured with the garment. “Well, turn around.”

  
  


Michael rolled his eyes. “What? Lindsay can see your dick but not me? I mean, I think I’ve seen it at one point.”  
  


 

“I know I have,” Gavin piped up.

  
  


“ _Guys_.”

  
  


The other Lads laughed but made a show of covering their eyes and turning around. Ray flicked open the fly of his shorts and shed them, boxers following. He wiggled into them and frowned at the lack of give they had. The lacy edges were almost sharp along his hips, the inside of his thighs, but they covered his ass and his dick didn’t feel trapped. It was...snug. Not uncomfortable. He looked into the mirror and the swell of his happiness started to deflate. He looked silly - lime green beneath the edge of his Twitch hoodie, so delicate next to the dark hair on his thighs. He pulled down the material with a scowl, trying to hide them.

  
  


“I look stupid.”

  
  


The other Omeas turned around and gaped, lips slowly turning up into wide smiles. Ray’s ears burned hot as two pairs of eyes roamed over him. The panties didn’t hug curves like Michael’s did, and he wasn’t as defined as either of them, but they thought he looked stunning.

  
  


“They’re perfect,” Michael declared. “They squeeze that cute little dick of yours like they were made for it.”

  
  


“Turn around!” Gavin urged, flapping his hand at him.

  
  


Ray huffed and turned back around, showing off his ass. They didn’t cut too high up on his cheeks - tasteful, almost, just a bit of cheek.

  
  


“They’re pretty.” Michael swiped his phone off the shelf. “We have to take a picture.”

  
  


A bolt of cold fear shot through Ray’s stomach. “No fucking way.” He didn’t want proof of how silly he felt, he didn’t want to look back at this later. Gavin had that mischievous look and he attempted to back into the corner but the Brit was quick. Ray yelped as he was snagged into a headlock and dragged around so his ass stuck out.

  
  


“Knock it off, asshole!”

  
  


“Quick, boy, do it!”

  
  


“Hold him still!”

 

 

  
  


Ray heard the smartphone shutter and went blood red from more than humiliation. Though he shoved at the Brit and called him all sorts of colorful names, a voyeuristic side of him was kind of getting off on it. His neck was let go but he was wrapped around by a warm, purring Omega. Gavin nuzzled his cheek and soon a second nose was pushing against him, hands settling on his hips while a firm chest pressed up against his back. He felt himself blush a bit but it was nice to have the mates cradling him between them, scenting his throat and hair in apology.

  
  


“You’re beautiful, boy,” Gavin murmured against his jaw, breath tickling his skin. “You look so damn good.”

  
  


Ray gave a quiet purr and wiggled between them, grabbing Michael’s forearm and the Brit’s waist to anchor himself. Their mixed scents were starting to mix together and fill the cubicle. He let his cheek brush golden hair and kicked up the smell of freshly cut flowers, a musk, all lacing with the sweet fizzy cherries of Michael’s own scent. He breathed them in and his nerves melted away, all of the tension released in a happy sigh. Panty-clad skin brushed against him and the silky glide made goosebumps crop up all over his legs. He could hear the rasp of lace catching between them and a strange feeling started boiling up. He felt _sexy_. It was a weird, new-ish feeling - one he’d only experienced a handful of times, and only really with Ryan.

  
  


“Can we take more pictures?” Ray asked, hesitant but a little excited now.

  
  


Michael let out a chirp and got his phone set up again. “Gather up, Lads.”

  
  


Ray purred as they huddled up. Gavin’s thigh pressed against, Michael all but straddling the Brit’s other leg and angling his hips just so to show off the swell of his cock through the panties. Ray was passed the camera with a wink so he opened up Snapchat and started testing angles, trying to get them all and their panties. He snapped a few until he got exactly the right one, typing out a message and showing the Lads.

  
  


  
  


“Fuck yes,” Michael laughed. “Save it, I want it as my new background.”  

  
  


Ray turned back to the mirror, looking between himself and the picture a few times. He didn’t care if Geoff saw because he knew the Alpha would probably just shove it at Ryan the second he realized who was in it. It’s not like it was his dick or anything. It was kind of tasteful considering the message. He had barely sent it before the walls rattled, something thumping behind him.

  
  


Michael had Gavin pinned to the wall, fists balled up in his shirt to make it ride high and show off his furry tummy and the lines of his hips. The impact had knocked his sunglasses back down low on the bridge of his nose. Their kiss was harsh and all tongue, a moan blending between them. Ray admired the way they could get lost in each other, how the world seemed to fade away when they were close like this. He hoped him and Ryan looked the same way when they kissed.

  
  


Ray snatched a photo of them and sent it to Geoff without any hesitation.

  
  


  
  


He chuckled when he saw the picture had been saved. He wasn’t surprised, Gavin’s panties were so small he looked next to naked and it was fucking hot. Michael broke the kiss with a wet little smack and turned his attention to Ray, wicked intent etched in his dark eyes.

  
  


Maybe they were caught up in the scent of pure _Omega_ but there was a heat growing between the three of them. Michael pried himself away from his grabby mate and walked the few steps to close the distance. Ray gasped quietly as he was manhandled up against the wall, full lips slotting against his own. He stared in shock as he was kissed - chastely though, just pressure, but there was a zing of electricity between them. He could see all of Michael’s freckles this close.

  
  


He’d always wondered what it’d be like to kiss Michael. It was breathtaking.

  
  


Michael was bumped out of the way and the young Lad got an eyeful of Gavin before he was kissed again. The Brit’s lips were thinner, more possessive, and there was a surprisingly gentle swipe of tongue to make Ray tingle. The two Omegas fit up on either side of him, pressing close and taking turns pressing sweet kisses to his lips. They turned his head to each side, Omega purrs tickling his mouth as they shared. He felt fingers at his hip and sighed happily, pressing back into them. Kisses started to trail below his ears, mouths leaving steamy trails to his scent glands. Firm licks made him squirm a little between them and he could actually smell his own potent vanilla scent pouring into the small room.

  
  


Ray felt overwhelmed in the best way, melting between the mates and letting them heavily scent at his throat. He laid his head against the cool mirror and his eyes fell shut. He couldn’t help but think that in another life the three of them could’ve been together, made it work. A life where he hadn’t fallen in love with Ryan, where the Omega mates hadn’t suffered so much having their hearts shredded while they unnecessarily fought over their Alpha.

  
  


He touched the small of both their backs and smiled. What they had was perfect, and he wouldn’t change it for anything.

  
  


“Let’s take another picture,” Gavin suggested, voice low as he pulled back and looked between them. He cupped both their chins and gave them each a small, chaste peck of affection. “You two look lovely right now and I want to remember this.”

  
  


It was the most solemn, weighty statement Ray had ever heard Gavin say. He smiled but it was bittersweet. For so long they’d been a bunch of goofs, some rag-tag brats mucking about on YouTube. Sometimes he still felt that way (I mean, shit, they were trying on panties for laughs), but it seemed with them all falling into relationships there were more serious moments like this cropping up. He didn’t mind them because they made him feel…

  
  


Pressed up close to his friends like this, he felt like an adult Omega. He felt grown up, like he mattered. In moments like these, his anxiety was smothered and made manageable and he was grateful for that.

  
  


Michael nodded with a little smile, pupils blown and cheeks just as flushed as the others. “Yeah. I’ll take it.”

  
  


Michael urged Ray away from the wall and to turn around, tucking him between himself and the Brit. They all smushed together close and nuzzled at one another, chirping like happy Omega younglings. The whole stall smelled like a bouquet of flowers with vanilla petals and sprigs of cherries tucked between them. Blushing and dizzy, Michael managed to snap one great picture with them all smiling.

  
  


“Okay, boys, let’s try on some more before we start jerking each other off.”

  
  


“Team Circle Jerk,” Ray chuckled, adjusting his glasses.

  
  


Michael beamed and quickly typed out the best Snapchat line in history. “We’re not just Lads anymore. We’re Team Panty Raid.”

  
  


  
  


 

o0o

  
  


Geoff leaned back in his desk chair and groaned, hands laced behind his head. He was trying to get some last minute editing done and had recruited Ryan to help out, shoot a Play Pals or something for some extra padding. Except he had six text messages and nine snapchats from Michael all about their Lads Day that he got a brief message about. More pictures kept coming and he was starting to wear down, he wanted to look.

  
  


Ryan grunted in annoyance when the older Alpha’s phone went off. “Just answer him.”

  
  


Geoff side-eyed him. “Has Ray messaged you?”

  
  


Ryan glanced at his phone. “Nope.”

  
  


Geoff’s resolve finally crumbled and he ignored the prompts on his computer to unlock his phone. He opened up Snapchat and started through them, a hot blush quickly staining his cheeks as the images went by. Victoria’s Secret, bras, Michael in baby doll pink...taking pictures in a dressing room like a filthy boy.

  
  


Geoff flailed so hard his chair creaked as the sixth picture popped up. “Ryan!” He stumbled over his chair and knocked it over, hurrying to the other desk and shoving the picture in the other Alpha’s face. They both got flustered seeing that cute little ass clad in a green pair of panties. Geoff saved the picture and stopped the feed, hand groping around blindly for Jack’s chair before pulling it up beside him.

  
  


“You wanna’ look at these together?”

  
  


Ryan swallowed thickly and nodded, though a little hesitant. “Are there going to be…?”

  
  


“Nah, they’re in public. Probably not.”

  
  


They sat shoulder to shoulder and let the new pictures on Snapchat pop up, both choking on their breaths at the sight of the “dick pic”. The next was Ray taking a snap of the Omega mates. and the last was truly sweet. The three Lads were pressed closed, smiling and red-cheeked, and it was quickly saved.

  
  


The Gents had matching, fond smiles.

  
  


“We’re lucky fucks,” Geoff stated, bumping the other’s shoulder. “You want to see the rest?”

  
  


Ryan quickly nodded and the texts were brought up. They were more playful and with different panties. Charlie’s Angels poses, exaggerated duck lips and finger guns, the three having fun and enjoying themselves. Ryan’s eyes seemed to shine when Ray would pop up, looking comfortable and happy in his own skin and tucked into a couple different pairs of panties.

  
  


“This is pretty fucking hot and everything,” Geoff started, rubbing a hand over his chest. “But I’m kind of feeling not-sexy feelings too.”

  
  


Ryan’s brows knitted up. “As in you don’t feel good sharing this experience or you’re uncomfortable knowing they’re out in the world doing this _together_ and not with you or…?”

  
  


“No, no, nothing like that,” Geoff assured. “It’s more like - we’re just so Goddamn lucky? These fuckers are young and can do anything and they’ve decided not just to work here but that we’re good enough to be their mates. They’ve hitched their horses to us.”

  
  


“Geoff.” Ryan’s solemn tone made Geoff’s throat close up, chest tightening. Ryan laid his hand on his shoulder and it felt like lead. “I’m serious when I say this: You are not that old of a horse. You’ve got a couple more good rides left in you.”

  
  


A laugh burst out Geoff. “Asshole!”

  
  


Ryan got shoved and he cackled, pushing back playfully. “I feel it too though! Really.” His smile softened and he got a far-away look. “I look at Ray sometimes and I can’t believe he loves me back, that he’s agreed to be my mate and we haven’t even knotted. That takes...so much trust. More than I had ever hoped for.” He scratched his cheek, stubble scraping under his nails. “Sometimes I worry we won’t be compatible.”

  
  


“First of all, you’re scent compatible,” Geoff started, sounding less like a lovestruck fool and more like a Pack Alpha. “Everyone can smell how perfectly your body chemistries blend. Second, you’re an idiot.” He flicked the younger Alpha in the head and it made him yip. “Ray’s wanted you from the day he saw you but you were stubborn. Third…”

  
  


He patted Ryan’s cheek with genuine affection. “I’ve seen a lot of people fall into mateship and end up burning out. Some pretty painful separations. But you two seem natural together. If something happens, it’s going to be because of something other than some kind of lack of love.”

  
  


Ryan broke out another warm smile. “That is probably one of the wisest things you’ve ever said.”

  
  


Geoff shrugged and went back to the messages, saving the pictures. “I try.”

  
  


Ryan got up and circled around behind the Pack Alpha’s chair, leaning down and wrapping his arms around his shoulders. Ryan rested his cheek in dark hair let his arms cross lazily over the man’s chest. Geoff rumbled soothingly and he gave an answering sound, scenting lightly. “You and Michael and Gavin...I know we’ve had some problems. I’ve said some things but you three seem so happy now. Your pieces seem to be finally falling together.” He squeezed Geoff a little. “It gives me a lot of hope.”

  
  


“Sappy fuck,” Geoff muttered fondly, holding up his phone so they could both see the notification. “Look, a couple more.”

  
  


Each picture was cuter than the last, panties mixing up and the Lads all hanging off each other. The two Alphas were so engrossed in cooing over the pictures and hurrying to save each one (to be sent to Ryan’s cell later) that they didn’t hear someone slipping in through the open door and walking up behind them.

  
  


“Wow that’s, uh, something.”

  
  


The Gents jumped at the sound of their third and whipped around with guilty looks.

  
  


“Uh, Jack, hey, we’re just-”

  
  


“Would they be okay with showing Caiti some of those?” Jack asked, all smiles with a hint of a laugh to his words. “She’ll get a real kick out of them. She’ll put some great filters on them and frame them for the Lads later if they want, I bet Michael will want a few of them.”

  
  


Geoff covered his face and groaned. “Jesus, Jack.”

  
  


“What? I’m serious!”

  
  


“Oh I know you are, that’s the point.”

  
  


o0o

  
  


Michael ended up with the pink and white panties, a baby blue lingerie set complete with a bralette, and some sinful red lace ones. Gavin and Ray got a few practical pairs that were more casual, hipster and boy cut, and the skimpier pairs they’d first tried on made it into their small piles. Ray’s were a little more modest, higher cut, some with a kiss of a bow or lace trim. It had started out as a joke but some of the pairs had felt so comfortable and soft that they’d snagged a couple different colors.

  
  


As they stood in line, Gavin stared down at his two handfuls of panties and hummed. “I wonder if I can just trim it down to jocks and these pretty bits?”

  
  


Ray liked that image, and he was sure Geoff’s mind would melt if his Omega mate started prancing around the house in skimpier things. “I’ll probably wear these at home, they’re soft as shit.”

  
  


“I’m more of a ‘special occasion’ gal myself,” Michael said in a bad, hitch pitched Southern drawl. The other Lads laughed and followed the third up to the counter. It was such a thrill shelling out money for the panties and the cashier was a young male Omega with rosy cheeks and a handsome smile. He was polite and helpful, double checking each pair to make sure there were no damages so the product was top quality when he put it in the bag.

  
  


As the Lads left the store and went back to the car, they burst into laughter and bumped shoulders as they walked. Ray let out a genuine giggle and it warmed the others hearts.

  
  


“I can’t believe we did that.” Ray tried to smother up more laughs but they were popping out of him, fingers tight around the handle of his bag. “That was so cool. I feel…”

  
  


“Awesome?” Michael offered.

  
  


“Kind of sexy,” Ray admitted.

  
  


“Dude, _yes_ ,” Michael snickered, sliding into the driver’s side. “See? This is what I was talking about. Fucking best idea ever.”

  
  


o0o

  
  


That night, Ray shot a small stream of an indie game before flopping into bed with his phone. He needed to get up early, run some errands before work, but he had a message he wanted to get to first before he passed out

  
  


**Rye:** _I see you had an adventure today._

  
  


Ray grinned to himself and tapped back a message.   
_  
_

**Ray:** _You like what you see?  
_ **Rye:** _Oh yes, very much. Geoff got a kick out of it too  
_ **Ray:** _I didn’t do it for him  
_ **Rye:** _I know. You spoil me. I can’t wait to see them.  
_ **Ray:** _If I let you see them  
_ **Rye:** _Tease  
_ **Ray:** _You know, you’d look great in a kilt.  
_ **Rye:** _Let’s make a deal. You model your new underwear for me and I’ll find a kilt  
_ **Ray:** _Deal! No take backs, fucker._

  
  


o0o0o0o

  
  


“ _So you two have been getting on then?_ ”

  
  


Ray hid his smile behind his hand, watching Dan break out a smile that was pure sunshine.

  
  


“ _You’ve been getting on very well._ ”

  
  


“Yeah,” Ray finally admitted. “We’ve been doing great. Making some steps.”

  
  


Dan rested his cheek on his fist. “ _Sexy steps?_ ”

  
  


“Oh yeah.”

  
  


Dan flashed some fang. “ _Lovely. Soon you two will be shagging twenty-four-seven. Won’t be able to get out of bed._ ”

  
  


“Everyone keeps saying that!” Ray laughed, hoping his camera quality was low enough to keep his blush a secret. “I don’t know what it is about us that makes everyone think we’re going to have marathon sex the first time we fuck?”

  
  


“ _Maybe because you two have the most natural relationship rhythm anyone’s ever seen and you two are ridiculously in love with each other?_ ” Dan offered, batting his eyes innocently from hsi corner of the screen.

  
  


Ray rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”

  
  


“ _Gav sent me a message yesterday. Something about panties?_ ”

  
  


Ray groaned. “God damn it. He told you?”

  
  


Dan waggled his eyebrows. “ _He said you all but some pretty underthings. Little treats for Geoff and Rye?_ ”

  
  


“Maybe.” He broke face. “Okay, yeah, for sure. Some of them are really comfortable.”

  
  


Dan perked up at that. “ _As in, you’d wear them outside the bedroom?_ ”

  
  


Being careful with his headset wire, Ray stood up and pushed down the line of his basketball shorts to show off the top of his panties. They had a thick black band and were maroon, covering his ass and soft on his dick in a way briefs had never managed to be. He got a different kind of thrill out of the way Dan’s mouth dropped open before he managed to snap it shut.

  
  


“ _You look fit._ ”

  
  


“Thanks.” Ray flopped back down, adjusting his headphones. “Do you think Ryan will like them?”

  
  


Dan shook his head. “ _What kind of question is that? Of course he will. He’ll cream his shorts seeing you in those, let alone something a bit more daring._ ”

  
  


Ray’s heart fluttered in anticipation. “I haven’t shown him yet. It’s kind of a tease? Something to look forward to. We haven’t gone very far…” He slammed his palm into his face. “I sound like I’m in high school.”

  
  


“ _It’s endearing,_ ” Dan assured him, head cocking to the side. “ _You seem to take sex very seriously._ ”

  
  


“Not really?” Ray scratched through the side of his hair, lips pursing briefly. “He does, though. It’s not a bad thing, he just wants to make sure I have a good experience. He’s overly gentleman-y, his mom and grandma made sure he was a proper Georgian Alpha growing up. I’m grateful and everything.”

  
  


“ _But_ ,” Dan continued for him. “ _You want things to move faster?_ ”

  
  


“We already talked about it, he’s all on board,” Ray assured him, gesturing vaguely. “I think my first heat is coming up, less than a month. I went to the doctor about a week ago.” Dan’s eyes widened but he hushed him. “No one knows, not even Ryan. I was afraid something might’ve been wrong, it’s been the standard three months going into four. He did all these tests and he said everything was normal. I had some markers of a late bloomer. I need get some more exercise and fix my diet, and interact with more Omegas.”

  
  


Dan made a small noise of understanding. “ _You told me you were a bit antisocial growing up_.”

  
  


“Beyond antisocial,” Ray snorted. “He said it’s healthy to scent with other Omegas. The dude was trying his hardest not to be class-ist but he recommended spending more time scenting with my Alpha too, my Pack Alpha. My hormones need an adjustment, they need to regulate, and I refused medication.”

  
  


“ _Nothing like the natural cure,_ ” Dan hummed. “ _So you’ve done all that_?”

  
  


“I’ve started to, and I already feel a little more....normal. Above normal,” Ray promised. “I’m going back in for a follow up in three weeks, see if anything’s changed.”

  
  


“ _That’s good._ ” Dan chewed his thumbnail. “ _You should tell Ryan, though. I bet he’s worried._ ”

  
  


Ray nodded. “I know. I will, once I know if it’s just my body being stubborn or something more serious.”

  
  


“ _He’s your mate,_ ” Dan reminded. “ _But, I’ll leave it at that. Tell me about Team Panty Raid._ ”

  
  


“Fuck, where do I start? First of all, I think Vav is on the train to full on crossdressing and I am one hundred percent behind it.”

 

 

 

 

 


	79. Geoff, Michael, and Gavin XII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin goes through a micro-heat.

**Reviews are very welcome. I don't respond much to comments anymore but I'll try to change that. I'm too busy converting them into fuel to write**

* * *

 

 

Gavin had felt off all day. His clothes were too itchy on his warm skin. Everything bothered him from the temperature of the office to the loud laughter of his fellow Hunters, all the way down to the way Ryan’s chair squeaked. Everything was annoying and he spent the day grinding his teeth He was snappy all through lunch and nothing tasted good so he just picked, ignoring the side eye he got from his Alpha. Gavin knew how strange it was to pick at food his mate had made for him, especially one particularly packed and tailored for him (leftover lemon chicken with mixed greens and a light, handmade sauce). But today he couldn’t stomach it. He gave it to Jeremy, who loved everything Geoff made, but was met with concern he didn’t want to hear.

He had his stuff packed and was ready to go promptly at six.

“I got my worklist done, I’m heading home,” Gavin stated, leaning over Geoff’s shoulder and gave him a brief kiss on the cheek. “I’ve got a car coming. I’ll see you later.”

Geoff frowned and turned in his seat to look him over. Gavin hunched in on himself a little to try and avoid the Alpha’s stern gaze as it searched him like he would find a problem written plainly somewhere on his person. Whatever Geoff found, it seemed enough for him to let it go. 

“I’m making steaks tonight. That okay?”

Gavin nodded wordlessly.

“Okay. Say goodbye to Michael, alright? Eat something when you get there.”

Gavin chirped very quietly and leaned in for another kiss, lips brushing chastely. Geoff made a low sound of concern but let him go. Michael had his headphones on at his desk with his music cranked up, computer busy downloading the newest game for Rage Quit. He gave his Omega a kiss on the top of the head. 

Michael perked up at the touch and shed his headphones, chirping sharply at his mate’s retreating back. But Gavin just gave him a wave before disappearing out the door.

“What the fuck?” Michael muttered, sniffing the air. Geoff had an Alpha’s nose that was tuned in to the scents of Omega, their body language and their hormone signatures. But Michael didn’t pick up those sour distress signals as strongly as his Alpha, so he zeroed in on the musk and the notes of saturated flowers. For some reason, Gavin was carrying notes of  _ heat  _ and it had his Omega mate tingling from his nose to his fingertips. “Gavin?”

He frowned at the lack of response.

“Hey Geoff?” Michael called, still staring at the door. “I’m going to wrap this up and head home, okay?”

Geoff pursed his lips but nodded. “Take care of him, okay?”

“Yeah.”

o0o

Gavin made the Uber stop by a shop to pick up some new scentless “Omega friendly” laundry detergent. It was designed to reduce static and soften even the roughest fabrics, to help reject the cling of scent. He got home and groaned at how everything stank. He tried to lay down but the couch felt lumpy and the sheets on the bed were scratchy. He was quickly getting overstimulated and he decided it was time to give up and try to do some laundry. The new detergent had to help, there was no way it could make anything worse. Then he’d try to get something in his stomach and maybe sleep the whole thing off.

He carted a basket full of sheets and underwear into the laundry room. He let the basket smack to the floor and checked inside the washer. There were some damp clothes so he tossed them into the dryer with a sheet and slapped the button. It kicked on and a flowery scent not unlike his own burst into the room. He heard the front door open and his name getting called. 

“In here! Doing some clothes.” 

Gavin stripped off his shirt and tossed it into the basket, hands working on his thick belt. He could hear Michael tromping through the house and the sound of the fridge, a rattle of bottles. and the kick that shut it. Gavin slid his thumbs into his jeans and made a little sound as he found the straps of the jock he’d worn. He remembered looking at the panties he’d bought with the Lads and deciding against wearing them to work. He would one day, but not yet. He’d dragged on a simple black jock instead. He wasn’t sure why he loved them so much but they were so freeing, and they hugged his dick in a way that was extremely flattering through his jeans. 

He dumped everything into the washer and popped in one of the detergent pods. He hooked his thumbs into the elastic of his jock and started to pull it down but the friction on his hole made him yelp. There was a distinct wetness there, heat flaring through his hips and filling up his cock. Gavin slammed the washer shut and flicked it on heavy, panic striking him in the chest. Omegas got wet outside of heats all the time, Michael in particular could really drip once he got going. Gavin had a moderate history of it but almost always with an Alpha. He didn’t feel particularly aroused but he wasn’t thinking straight. The world was getting a little out of focus on him and a familiar warmth was spreading down into his thighs and up into his stomach. His knees tried to buckle and he clung to the washer. The rumble of the dryer was suddenly much louder as the world spun. 

It had been a long time since he’d felt even a taste of this and that was back when he was with Dan, when Geoff had just been a pipe dream. It felt like a heat. But that was silly because he on suppressants and they’d been working flawlessly for years. He’d been worried the stress of taking two mates would wear them thin but they had held strong through all of it. This felt like a heat but sharper, more urgent more quickly.

That’s how Michael found him - flushed, jock tangled around his thighs, gaping and staring blankly at the washer. Dazed, a little breathless, and  _ vulnerable _ . It kicked Michael’s instincts right in the gut and he shamelessly stared at the Omega in front of him.

“Michael?” Gavin whined, cock hardening and straining in his jock, the straps straining around his upper thighs. “M-Michael I think something’s wrong with my suppressants.”

Michael crowded up against his mate and cupped the back of his neck, pressing up close to start sniffing below his jaw. Gavin choked on a pathetic noise and melted against him. Skin met skin and it was like scraping a match, heat flaring up and burning through him like it wanted to erupt through his skin in flames. Michael’s tongue laved over his swelling scent glands and he pushed into it, purring faintly under his breath. 

“Fuck,” Michael huffed against his cheek. “Micro-heat.”

Gavin made a curious sound, only half listening as his fingers found the hem of his mate’s shirt. Michael’s hip was so soft under his touch and he got greedy for more, splaying his fingers out and groping up higher until he could snag a nipple. He loved how responsive Michael was, how easily the bud perked up and strained for more. 

“You’re going into a micro-heat, asshole,” Michael grunted, knowing he should push the Brit away to inspect him but his fingers were already curling in the sides of the jock. “It’s happened to me before. It’s what happens when you take the same brand of suppressants for too long without giving yourself a year off. Do you even listen to Ryan when he goes off on those rants about them?”

Gavin knew what he wanted to say. Something clever about never listening to Ryan, that it was Ray’s job, but his lips were numb and it was all mental. He struggled to say it out loud but his tongue felt too loose to obey. Instead he buried his face in Michael’s neck and started to lick, desperately lapping up the other Omega’s fizzy, cherry scent and the fresh wash of hormones. It all went straight to his head. He pawed at his arms, whining at how strong his mate’s arms felt and what that strength could do to him.

“Gavin,  _ listen _ . It’s a small heat, okay? It’s going to last maybe twenty four hours.”   
  


Gavin’s hands slid down to the Omega’s waist and squeezed tight. “Want you.”

“Yeah, your dick is fucking excited, boy. But I need to get you some water and text Geoff to bring some heat shakes. Micro-heats sap you more quickly than you realize if you’re not careful.”

Gavin trembled and a surprising gush of slick trickled down his inner thighs. He could feel his hole soften and all the blood rushed to his head and cock. He got dizzy and clung to his mate, leaning all his weight against him. “ _ Michael _ .”

An Omegan growl filled his ears and his body kickstarted like it had come straight from an Alpha. Gavin whined when a hand clamped over his nape but the sound cut off into a cry when he was thrown over the dryer. Warm metal met skin and he was pinned, bent over on display. He spread his legs without prompting and he could feel how open he was, how much slick was dribbling out of him. The musk of crushed petals and Omega need started to fill up the small laundry room, and a darker scent that seemed to be trying to mimic an Alpha’s. Michael shoved mindlessly at the fly of his jeans until they opened enough to be shoved down along with his briefs. 

Gavin’s cheek scrubbed against the warm metal as he squirmed, hands curling along the edge to brace himself. He felt Michael’s cock slap wetly against his hole as it sprung free, already hard and ready. It didn’t feel like the heft of an Alpha dick but Gavin’s body didn’t care. He arched and spread, hole soaked and inviting for whatever his mate had to give.

“You want this?” Michael hissed through his teeth, rubbing his dick along the Omega’s wet hole and staring at the sloppy presentation before him. “Take the edge off, boy?”

Gavin nodded quickly. Michael grabbed him in the crook of his neck and shoulder and squeezed down  _ hard _ , hitting just the right pressure points to assure the Omega side of Gavin’s brain that he’d be well taken care of. He would’ve melted completely but Michael filled him in the same moment, plump head briefly kissing his rim before sliding up inside. It wasn’t the fattest cock by any means, not nearly as  _ Alpha _ as Geoff’s, but it was smooth and strangely satisfying combined with that confidant strength. 

Gavin’s happy mewl was met with a rough snarl and the Omega side of Michael’s brain shut down. A rough palm slid over his nape and it cemented the small heat, throwing Gavin in headfirst. 

“Michael, Michael…”

The fuck wasn’t at all gentle. Both Omegas were fueled by pure lust, biological urges taking their usual need for each other and amping it up by a hundred. Gavin was a livewire of noise, squealing and moaning as the other Omega’s cock grazed his prostate, the length just enough to kiss the swollen spot. Michael’s thumb dug deep into his mate’s scent gland as their hips smacked together lewdly, sweat building between them as they moved together. Slick dripped heavy from Gavin and Michael’s own soon joined, sluicing down their thighs and creating sticky trails all the way down to their calves. They made a mess, dripping all over the floor and matting their hair from effort, but they were completely gone.

“That’s it. Be a good bitch for me, Gav.”

Gavin made a strangled sound and his cock twitched so hard it hurt. “Yours.”

He squeezed his nape. “My what?”

Gavin gaped, near-black eyes staring at the wall as he tumbled deeper into his subspace-like trance. “Your bitch.”

“ _ Good boy. _ ”

Michael’s rough snarls and his mate’s sweet, blissful noises were punctuated with the harsh slaps of the dryer hitting the wall . Dry wall splintered under the harsher thrusts . Gavin whined in the back of his throat when his cheeks were grabbed and spread for a hard, deep grind that cracked the first odd shape of paint off the wall. The rumble of the machine vibrated up into Gavin’s chest, mixing with his purr. It made his nipples hard and his cock kept grazing the metal side, the heavy way he leaked making the pressure slick and wonderful.

While Gavin panted and savored the feeling of being fucked, dazed from his heat as he was, Michael’s brain was switching into something more feral and dominant. His mate’s hole swallowed him up, everything inside like wet silk but his rim tight as a vice to keep him close. Blunt nails scraped down Gavin’s sides and ass to leave ruddy marks behind. Michael was so into just  _ fucking  _ that he got sloppy sometimes and had to hook his hands in the Brit’s hips, drag him back up into the right angle so the both enjoyed it. Michael wanted to breed him like a bitch but he wanted them both to get off, to satisfy the itch of heat.

“You feeling good?” Michael rasped, shaking damp curls out of his eyes and trying to maintain some form of control. He may have been dripping all over himself like a whore but in this moment he was the Alpha, for all intents and purposes. 

Gavin was slipping deep into his own head but he was still present enough to nod. “Knot me.”

“I will, baby,” Michael promised, sliding a hand up the boy’s damp back until he could grab his nape. “Just let me fuck you right now. We’ll knot in the bedroom.”

Gavin mewled, canting up his hips. “I need it, Alpha.”

_ That _ sent a violent shiver through Michael.

“Come and we’ll go.”

Michael’s mouth dropped open as his mate clamped down on him so hard it almost hurt. Gavin rocked back on his cock twice before he visibly shuddered and came all over the dryer. Michael tilted to the side to watch him, holding him in place to help him ride out the orgasm. He made a rough purr to mimic a rumble and reached forward to carefully pump his cock, pulling out every drop.

Gavin was gasping roughly against the dryer, lashes fluttering as the crest of pleasure stuck with him longer than usual. He just barely softened even after coming so hard and that’s when he knew for sure the micro-heat was real. “Al...Alpha? I came. Knot me?”

“Oh baby, you’re gone,” Michael murmured, gently petting up around his hips to soothe him. 

Gavin chittered and squirmed uselessly on the dryer, rocking with each movement. 

“Come here, boy, I’ve got you. That’s it, lean on me. Let’s get you to bed.”

o0o

Geoff knew something was off the second he walked into the house. There was a new scent in the air mixed with the smell of his boys. There was a dark, sweet cherry lacing with something richer. Gavin’s scent had changed, deepened, and there was a musk to it. It was intoxicating. Geoff sniffed the air and he could feel his cock throb in his jeans, the base tingling where his knot would be when it swelled. It had been so long since he’d smelled it, could remember it from what felt like a lifetime ago where he had a soft little Omega to take care of. A time when he was a proxy-Alpha and his job was to bring his sweet boy snacks and water, to rub down his shoulders and scent with him until he managed to fall asleep. To buy him heat aids and watch his embarrassed blush as he hastily stuffed them in his room.

Gavin was in heat. But he’d been on suppressants since he and Dan broke up and that was impossible.

Geoff dropped his bag and barely bothered to kick off his shoes before he was hurrying through the house, tracking the smell. It went all the way to the master bedroom and he went right for the knob. It was locked. He frowned and wrapped his knuckles on the door. “Boys? Boys, you in there? Everything okay?”

The door was yanked open under his hand. It took a few seconds to realize what he was seeing but when he blinked away the haze of the heat scent he focused on Michael. His Omega was flushed all over and dripping in sweat, panting. Freckles had disappeared under the heat and his mouth looked bitten raw. He had bite marks all over his chest and throat like badges, cock blood red and angry with a silver ring fit snugly at the base of it. He was soaked in slick, both his own and Gavin’s, thighs and shaft shining with it.

He smelled like an Omega in heat but different, more feral. More like an Alpha in rut.

Geoff grabbed him by the hair and dragged him in close to bury his face in his neck. He dragged his mouth over Michael’s swollen scent gland and licked at the hot skin just below his jaw. “What the fuck, Michael?”

Michael made a rumbling noise at him. His boy was pretty far gone.

“God, it’s you and him that smell so good, huh?” Geoff snuffed, nipping at the damp skin. “What are you two doing?”

Michael croaked on the first word so he cleared his throat. “Gav’s meds are fucking with him. I’m helping.”

Geoff looked into the bedroom and caught sight of the bed. Gavin was laid out and flushed, hips propped up on a wet pillow. Bliss was written all over his face and he was mewling Michael’s name, thighs spreading like a warm welcome to show off his slick rim. Michael tisked and took back his Alpha’s attention. 

“You should stay on the other side of the house or go out with the guys,” Michael urged, leaning against the doorway as he finally caught his breath.

Geoff wet his lips, throat dry. “Michael…”

“Alpha,” Michael breathed out. “This needs to happen. He practically grew up in your lap, his body knows you. It’s time it knows me. We need to bond.”

“This is a little crazy.” Geoff glanced at his other mate again, instincts stirring up. “We’ve never talked about this. Micro heats are intense.”

“After, we’ll talk,” Michael promised. “If this goes well we can take care of his next heat together.”

“God damn it, Michael.” Geoff huffed out a laugh. “You’re perfect.”

The Omega looked surprised, mouth dropping open. 

“Seriously,” he swore, reaching out and curling his fingers with Michael’s own. “You’re sexy and amazing and I fucking love you right now.”

Michael whined and yanked him into a kiss that was all teeth and passion. Geoff pawed at him, fingers slipping over the damp lines of his waist. They only broke apart when Michael’s name was cooed from the bed. They both looked to watch Gavin rut into the pillow, little broken pants escaping him. 

“After.” Michael braced his palms on the Alpha’s chest and  _ pushed _ . “We’ll do the gay talk thing okay?”

It took another minute and a kiss but he managed to get the Alpha to leave, locking the door just for the security of it. Any other time he would welcome his Alpha with open arms but right now was a time for them.

“Was that Geoff?” Gavin whined hopefully as his mate crawled back onto the bed. There was a small growl before he got a face full of sheets and firm lips pressed to his ear. 

“If you think I’m letting anyone -  _ anyone  _ \- put their hands on you right now but me, you’re fucking delusional.” He bit Gavin’s ear and enjoyed the way the Omega jolted on the bed. Michael waited until the other relaxed before he reached over and picked up the knotting toy he’d chosen for this. It was as heavy as a real cock, smaller than Geoff but more than adequate with a knot formed into the mold instead of one of those fancier inflation ones. It wasn’t anything his mate couldn’t handle.

“Stay as relaxed as you can,” Michael soothed as he rubbed the head of the toy over the waiting hole. It flexed wetly against it, begging to be filled. “That’s a good boy, Gavvy.”

The Omega keened as he was slowly fucked open with careful, shallow thrusts that got his overheated body ready to really take it. “M’ good for you?”

“Yeah you are, baby,” Michael crooned, eyes fixed on the way the shiny rim started swallowing up the toy. “Look at you. Feels good?”

Gavin nodded dumbly, mouth dropping open as another inch slid in. He moved with each thrust and his cock dribbled all over the pillow, slick bubbling around the toy’s girth. One of those silly, trilling sounds escaped the Omega and he undulated like a pleased cat. “ _ So _ good.”

“Sweet Omega,” Michael murmured, his own cock visibly throbbing as he looked over every inch of his mate. Keeping on a cockring was a trick he’d picked up researching Alpha-play. Keeping his arousal at its peak and denying release helped keep him sharp, hungry, and got his hormones running at full speed. 

“I heard you in that Let’s Build.”

Gavin’s brows knit together, mouth flubbing silently in confusion. 

Michael leaned over him, lips brushing his nape. “Something about how you wouldn’t just ride my knot. How you’d heat fuck the shit out of me until neither of us could walk right.”

Gavin choked, fingers curling deep in the sheets. “Y-You heard that…?”

“I jerked off to it,” Michael grit out through clenched teeth, hips starting to rut into the air as he worked the toy into his mate harder, gliding deeper with the new gush of slick. Gavin squirmed and his nails made a rough noise on the sheets. “I listened to it at Jack’s desk and it got me so fucking hard I had to go in the bathroom and beat my dick just thinking about it.”

He cupped Gavin’s hip and bottomed the toy out to the knot, rubbing the thick silicone against the wanting hole. His mate let out a slew of soft noises but didn’t pull away, that cute ass flexing as it slowly pushed back against him.

“Thought about what I would do to you if I had a knot.” Michael was ready to start drooling from the memories he was conjuring up, the conversation he’d heard, all coupled with the delicious image in front of him. “How easy you’d slide onto my knot, how pretty you’d sound begging for it. Couldn’t stop picturing you under me, letting me fuck you.”

Gavin cried out as the toy rubbed hard over his prostate, teasing him towards the edge but not letting him fall. He panted loudly as the heat soaked those words and made them fuller, running through his mind on fast forward as he thought of all the ways Michael as an Alpha could make him submit, could breed him.

Michael keened very quietly, a bit of Omea leaking through. “If I could be an Alpha for you, I  _ would _ . You know that, Gav?”

Gavin bit his lip, nose scrunching up.

“I would, for you, in a fucking second,” Michael swore. He rubbed his cock along the soft inside of Gavin’s thigh and wished desperately his cock could satisfy him, that he had a knot to give. 

“Geoff,” Gavin grunted out as he fought for some lucidity, clawing his way up through the thick haze of heat that felt dangerously like subspace. “You wouldn’t have him.”

Michael put the heel of his hand on the toy and pushed in hard, the top of the knot threatening to slip into his hole. He covered the Omega, draping over him and dragging his teeth over his throat. Pure pheromones and sweat hit his tongue and Michael snarled, biting harder until his mate chittered in submission.

“I fucking love Geoff so much I’d burn Rooster Teeth to the ground to stay with him,” Michael hissed with a low, serious tone that made Gavin whimper shamelessly from the lust it inspired. “I would destroy everything we’ve built for him if he wanted me to, set the whole place on fire.” He placed a kiss behind Gavin’s ear and the Omega shivered. “But I’d pull you out before I did it. ‘Cause you’re my boy, my mate.”

Michael pressed as close as possible, hand pushing harder on the toy so the knot started to slip in. He whined along with Gavin, though there was a note of distress in his voice. 

“Why can’t I be his Omega and your Alpha at the same time?” Michael rasped, so quiet that his mate almost missed it. “Why does everyone keep slapping labels on shit? Why can’t I be...everything, for you both…”

“Michael?” Gavin whispered, turning his head to peer at the other Lad. He looked needy, overwhelmed. “A-Alpha?”

Michael felt like he’d been punched in the gut. “Yeah?”

“You’re my everything.”

o0o

Geoff stayed at the house but he kept a towel pushed under the bedroom door and slept on the couch. When he woke up the sun had just come up, the air chilled but the light fresh as it poured into the windows. The world was quiet and still fast asleep, and the bedroom was finally quiet. The Lads had been at it all night almost non-stop. 

Geoff walked up to the bedroom and kicked the rug aside. A heavy wave of heat musk hit his nose and he snuffed, shaking his head to clear the  _ need  _ that flooded through him. He fought it and pushed open the door.

The Omegas were on the messy bed. Sheets and pillows had been kicked out, some even making it to the floor. Michael was curled around Gavin with one hand splayed over his mate's stomach, both half asleep and mindlessly purring. Michael looked so much like an Alpha - protecting his potential young after breeding his mate. It was sweet and made all sorts of warm, protective instincts flare up.

Geoff stripped to his boxers and crawled into bed with them. He rumbled soothingly and nosed at them both, settling on his side. The Brit ducked his head and snuggled into his chest. Michael gave a happy coo when his cheek was cupped, thumb rubbing just under his bloodshot eyes. 

 

"You boys okay?"

"Hungry," Gavin mumbled.

Michael gave a small hiss of disappointment. "Forgot food, Alpha."

"It's okay baby boy, this micro-heat hit hard and fast. Didn't it?"

Gavin whined and nodded. "Maybe...maybe I should go off suppressants for a while."

"I think that's a good idea," Geoff soothed, dropping a kiss into his hair. 

"Maybe we both should," Michael proposed. "It's been a long time. I'm way past the recommended time." He cleared the husk from his throat, pressing closer to his Omega mate. "Ray's heat will be starting anytime now. Maybe it'll be good to have a Lad heat?"

"It'll be healthy for you both," Geoff assured.

Gavin let out a trembling breath, fingers twitching.

"Your Omega needs you," Michael whispered as he reluctantly retracted his arm to give them some space. 

Geoff wasted no time crawling on top of Gavin, hunching over him protectively as he stole his mouth in a firm kiss. The boy mewled against his lips and it took everything in him to break the kiss but it was well worth it to get to his throat. The start of stubble rasped against Geoff's lips and had them tingling as they trailed down to his swollen scent gland. It felt so good against his tongue, straining towards him like it wanted to be bitten. "Did you wear out sweet Michael?"

Gavin weakly wrapped his legs around him, pushing up and nodding. 

"Did he treat you right, baby?" Geoff rumbled, grinding their hips together and reveling at just how wet Gavin was  _ everywhere  _ now. 

"He was so good, Alpha," Gavin promised, voice still so soft from his long dip into subspace. "Michael fucks like a dream."

Michael purred proudly, watching them. 

"I bet he felt so good, soothed all that heat." Geoff licked over his mate's throat, leaving his scent behind and rutting his covered, half hard cock against all that soft skin. "He's got a lot of energy."

Gavin grinned brightly. "I've learned."

They kissed and scented for a while, letting their minds go soft while Michael's hands glided over them. When Geoff did pull away he got up to go to the kitchen, leaving the Lads to cuddle while he searched the fridge for some post-heat shakes. There were some in the crisper he kept for emergencies and they were ice cold when he brought them back to his boys.

"Up, both of you."

Michael whined faintly in protest. "I'm fine."

"I know you feel like you've gone through heat too.  _ Up _ ."

The Omegas fussed but they slowly dragged themselves up. Michael sat against the headboard and Gavin settled between his legs, a freckled arm draped around him while he slumped into his mate's chest. Geoff cracked open both bottles and stuck a straw in each, handing them over. The Omegas chirped in unison before they obediently started to drink up. They were both beyond tired from fucking all night.

Geoff watched how his mates' eyes drooped in exhaustion, how they slowly suckled from the straws and leaned into each other. After they were done he would rub them both down with medicated lotion from all the chafing and scratches they surely had. He'd have to clean the toys they used, wash the bedding, cook them up a real meal, rehydrate them...the list went on and on.

 

And there was no happier Alpha than Geoff to do the job. Taking care of his mates? His boys, his Lads...he was living the dream. 

****  
  
  
  
  
  
  


 


	80. Ryan and Ray XVI

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ray indulges in one of Ryan's hidden kinks and finds out he loves it.

**This story is getting an absolute rehaul. Version 2.0, with added dialogue and details (and one particular bit being taken out), and most importantly all edited up to look more clean. A big tidy. It'll be reposted ten chapters at a time after the story is complete, and I'm about 7-9 chapters away from being finished. So, big applause and welcome to the team I've dredged up from Tumblr, can't wait to really get started. This story will stay up as it is but with proper links to the new revamped in-chronological-order story. Why? Because I just can't bare to lose all the super amazing comments and kudos and memories.**

**So if anyone is thinking of rereading, maybe give it a wait. Hopefully the resposted story will have a smoother reading feel**

 

* * *

 

 

They could spend forever like this. Considering they’d spent for-fucking-ever getting here, any intimate contact felt like  _ too much  _ and  _ nowhere near enough _ . The TV was background noise, swallowed up by the rush of blood in their ears. Ryan had cooked them dinner and they’d settled on the couch with full stomachs. Ryan had so lightly scented his throat, nose dragging along the Omega’s pulse and under his jaw. It had been a playful sort of tease at first, nose tickling the skin and making Ray laugh. Fingers tickled along sides and over knees, smiling lips brushing. It had been sweet at first but the heat set in like waves, creeping up on them until they started to dig their nails into one another.

Ray moaned and grabbed onto the Alpha’s shoulders, hauling himself around with a bit of grace and straddling his lap. Ryan made a happy little noise against his lips and snagged him by the hips, tugging him close to press flush with his mate. Their lashes fluttered as they reveled in the heat of one another.

Ray dragged his teeth over the Alpha’s lip and grinned at the sound he drew out. “Why haven’t we been doing this since we met?”

“I’ll never fucking know,” Ryan growled out, fingers sliding up under the Omega’s shirt and fanning out. He could never get over how soft Ray’s skin was. His hands and mouth ached to scent every inch, to rub himself all over his boyfriend until they only smelled of each other. Ray thought he was being a gentleman with all those shoulder and back rubs but it was just another way to smooth his own scent into all that silky skin. 

“You being a southern Alpha,” Ray teased, not for the first time. 

“Wanted to treat you right,” Ryan pressed, nails digging in. Ray arched into it, the long line of his body catching his mate’s ravenous gaze. 

“To tease me, more like.” Ray countered playfully, fingers grazing over the Alpha’s throat to comb up into blonde hair. Ryan snapped his teeth at him and dragged his mate’s hips against his own, the Omega gasping as their needs met. He could feel the long, thickening line of Ryan’s cock against his own and he felt so  _ small _ . It was like a natural submission, rubbing up against the Alpha and getting a little slick. That savory scent and the firm muscle, the strength of his grip - it was all so easy to fall into. A broad palm cradled his head and eased him into an open mouthed kiss. 

Ray’s face pinched up in sharp pleasure as they rocked together, dicks rubbing just right to send goosebumps up his arms and over his thighs. He fisted a hand in Ryan’s shirt and the other on his back for leverage, humping against him like a teenager and getting off on it. He moaned and Ryan swallowed it up, feeding off it.

The kiss broke with twin gasps for breath but Ryan’s teeth sought the delicate skin under his mate’s jaw, dragging over it. “Fuck.”

The harsh word from Ryan’s usually sweet mouth was a pleasant shock to his system, along with the slight drag of fangs. He pawed at his mate, chittering under his breath. The sound cut off when Ryan pulled back. The Alpha looked pained and it tugged at his heart. “What’s wrong?”

“There’s something I haven’t really talked about,” Ryan admitted, teeth catching the corner of his lip for a moment. Ray squeezed his arm in quiet encouragement and he cleared his throat. “It’s just sort of a thing. It’s...not really important.”

“Ryan,” Ray chuckled fondly. “You never want to talk about anything you want. You always think about what  _ I _ want and I think it’s time you get to be a little selfish.”

Ryan’s brow briefly pinched up. “I’m kind of scared you won’t like it.”

Ray rolled his eyes. “Dude.”

Ryan’s cheeks flushed hot and it made Ray’s heart give a little flutter. It felt like a little accomplishment to get the Alpha blushing about stuff from their sex life. He was so experienced but they both knew this was different, this connection they had was new for both of them. This shyness was so endearing and every time he got Ryan to fumble and stutter he fell in love all over again. 

“I-If you aren’t comfortable with it, I’ll understand.”

There it was - the flub. 

Ray chittered reassuringly. “Ryan, spit it out. I promise I won’t bite.”

“Aah, well,” Ryan chuckle nervously.

His eyes went wide as a flash of heat shot through his belly, going straight to his dick. He thought of biting into Ryan’s throat, having the Alpha’s fangs in his own, and he wasn’t sure he could get any harder. “Oh.  _ Oh _ . You want me to…?”

“No, actually. I mean, I wouldn’t be opposed to it, we could certainly do both,” Ryan rambled out, tongue nearly tripping up again. “I actually was wondering if  _ I _ could bite  _ you _ .” The blush deepened as he realized how that sounded. “N-Nothing painful! I wouldn’t make you bleed, and we’d use a safe word so if it gets too much we can stop in a second anytime at all.”

Ray felt absolutely giddy as he listened to his boyfriend babble, smiling and squirming at just the thought of what they were about to do. It was something new - Ryan was  _ listening  _ to him, he was sharing, opening up. And it was such an  _ Alpha  _ thing too. He tipped up Ryan’s chin and gave him a sweet kiss. “We can definitely try it. Sounds like fucking fun to me. 

Ryan seemed to light up. His eyes shined but there was an intensity etched across his features. His breath started to pick up - excitement setting in before they even got started. It got Ray’s own heart going to see his mate so eager. “We’ll use the color safe words for now, if that’s okay?”

“That sounds good.” 

o0o

****  
  


Ryan locked down the house for the night, double checking everything and turning off the lights. The ritual let his lust cool off and by the time he got to the bedroom he was only half hard. That changed when he saw his Omega. Ray was sprawled out on the bed in just his boxer briefs and zip hoodie, though he wasn’t sure what was beneath that.

“Come here,” Ray breathed out, fingers toying with the zipper. 

Ryan nodded wordlessly and stripped down to his own underwear. They were expensive and tight, a teasing gift from Lindsay. A kind he only wore when he was around Ray in a half-ass attempt to look sexy for his mate. From the way Ray’s eyes lingered on the bulge in them, he was impressed. Ryan tried not to preen and rumble like a pleased Alpha. Instead he crawled onto the bed and up to his mate, both smiling at one another as the butterflies in their stomachs doubled. They both were feeling a little nervous but in a way that would make the pleasure sweeter. 

Ryan hovered over his mate and stared, eyes roving over every inch of him. He closed Ray in with his arms, knees digging into the bed on each side of the other’s legs. It soothed the Alpha within him to cover the Omega so completely. Though he didn’t like the mindset, he loved that Ray was smaller than him, softer in so many ways. Including his skin. Presenting as an Omega had caused so many changes and he loved each one of them as much as he loved the things that didn’t change. Like his dry wit, his lazy grins, the relaxed way he held himself, the internet humor - all the normal things that had drawn Ryan in to begin with. Becoming an Omega had thickened his hair and his scent, some fat gathering on his slim frame to make everything softer from his stomach to his hips and the fat mounds of his ass. 

He loved everything about Ray. 

Ray’s cock throbbed at the sound of his mate’s hitching breath. There was such pure  _ longing  _ on the man’s face and it made him ache, in a good way. He fiddled with his zipper and grinned at the way those blue eyes zeroed in on it, pupils blowing out as he started to tug it down. It was a sluggish motion and it stoked their fires, each grit of the zipper and each inch of flesh revealed fed their need. They were barely touching but Ray had to pause a few times to just  _ breathe _ . It felt like too much already. 

Ryan couldn’t believe Ray was letting him do this. Ray could hardly believe they were even here. 

The zipper slid past Ray’s belly button before finally popping free. Ryan chewed his lips and sat back on his knees, hands slipping beneath the hoodie and pushing the flaps aside to bare the Omega. Ryan’s cock visibly throbbed through his trunks as he got to drink in the sight. He’d seen it before but it never failed to get him going. Ray’s small, dark nipples and light puff of chest hair between his pecs that trailed faintly down to his belly. He looked so...plush, so soft to the touch. Every bit of him demanded a firm caress and a dozen kisses. 

Ryan thumbed at his ribs, palms slowly dragging down the Omega’s sides. “You’re beautiful.”

“I bet you say that to all the boys,” Ray teased lamely, voice a little breathless in anticipation. “So...where are you going to bite first?”

Ryan laid a hand at the base of the Omega’s throat and grinned at how the boy keened, arching into it. He thumbed the swell of his Adam’s apple before sliding down to trace his fingers over the ridges of his collarbone. He found a nice spot right below. Being so careful, he covered Ray once more and sunk down onto his elbows to kiss that pretty little spot. He felt Ray squirm, could smell the Omega’s arousal. Fresh sweat and musk, adrenaline, nerves, and he could almost hear the pounding of his heart.

Ray watched with baited breath, teeth clamped on his bottom lip as Ryan lowered his head so agonizingly slow. The anticipation was sweet but he wanted to know what it felt like. No one had ever bitten him before and he’d never really wanted anyone to. Reading those Alpha/Omega smut stories growing up, seeing all the romances on TV and movies, and even the porn - none of it had ever really done it for him. Passionate bites, marks, claims. He’d never wanted any of it, seen the point of it. But a craving had been stirred up and nothing else would sate it but  _ this _ .

Ryan’s lips drew back and the Omega chittered submissively at the sight of those canines. They were bigger than his own, bigger and sharper than a Beta’s. In everyday they weren’t really noticeable but  _ now  _ \- so close to his skin - they were daggers. He sucked in a breath when they touched his skin, just pressure at first. Ryan started to rumble and the sound was so distracting he almost missed the start of the bite, goosebumps cropping up thick across his chest. He shivered and then he truly felt it.

Ray whined but didn’t make any move to get away. The pressure sharpened and he could feel his skin go tight. It was pain, there was no getting around that. The signals pulsing through his body were definitely  _ hurthurthurt  _ but it hurt so  _ good _ . He winced when it edged on too much but that’s when Ryan’s jaw relaxed, teeth retreating. The Alpha’s rumble was more soothing now, lips and tongue gently working over the marked flesh to ease the hurt.

Ray’s eyes popped open as a great rush of pleasure swept through him. Something in the back of his mind was rambling about endorphins but he couldn’t hear it over the sound of his own heart. He whimpered out his mate’s name as he felt his hole flex, slick wetting the rim while his cock leaked in his underwear. A dark spot spread on the red material and it was only getting worse.

“What the hell?” Ray panted, blinking away the build of tears that had started. “Shit, Rye, that’s-” He broke off when he saw how dark the Alpha’s eyes were now. His lips were red and wet, shining the dim light as he hovered over the mark. Ray could see how puffy his skin was getting but it was the indents that made him gasp. Perfect, red teeth marks but no sight of blood. It would bruise, last, but it wasn’t a wound. “ _ Shit _ .”

Ryan licked his lip, drawing it between his teeth almost nervously. He was every bit the predator, muscles flexed and body poised protectively, but the small gesture showed he was still aware. “Good?”

“Better than good,” Ray laughed, giddy as he laid his hands on the Alpha’s shoulders to squeeze. “Keep going?”

Ryan growled and his mate trembled beneath him. The next bite was savage but controlled, teeth closing over the fleshy spot above his mate’s nipple. It gave so wonderfully under his jaw and he only let up when he could almost taste blood. Ray was coming alive under his hands. He ran his palms down his mate’s body and savored every twitch, every whimper - he could read his lust in the braille of goosebumps that prickled his skin. Ryan’s blood was running white hot. It had been so long since a partner had let him indulge in this particular kink, let him be an Alpha in all the ways he denied himself. Marking. Claiming. He loved to bite, to sink his teeth into a lover’s flesh. 

Here now with Ray was something exquisite. It had never been this intimate before. It had never meant this much. He laid a wet kiss on the new mark and it was so stunningly warm under his lips. He traced the ridges his own teeth had left behind and he could feel his cock drip inside his underwear. He slid down to lick over the firm tip of his mate’s nipple and grinned at the high pitched cry he got from it. Ray’s nerves were crackling and everything was feeling good, he could read all the signs. The Omega was grinding his pretty dick against his hip, his stomach, wherever he could reach. 

Ryan’s mouth watered at the sight of Ray’s bared throat, all strained tight as he gave in to the pleasurable agony of the deep bruises and the rush of endorphins. But that was too public for now. He wanted to make to make sure Ray would be good with all this once they could think straight. Next time.

“Ow!” Ray squealed, eyes clenching shut and body bowing tight as the Alpha’s fangs buried in a fleshy part of his hip. He pushed up into his mate’s mouth, head thrown back as a grimace of pain twisted his lips. “Ow, fuck, fuck.”

Panic flared in Ryan’s chest. He hadn’t even bitten down to his fullest. He immediately started to relax but his Omega hissed out a protest.

“Don’t you fucking  _ dare  _ stop!”

The panic melted into pure heat that flushed through him. He bit harder, hands curving around Ray’s hips and grabbing his ass for leverage. His Omega’s skin was so perfect under his teeth and he badly wanted to go that last bit, break skin and taste the rich copper of his blood if only just a small lick. But he didn’t, he wouldn’t.

Another conversation for another time. 

Ryan pried his teeth out of his mate’s hip with a snarl and he licked over it, moaning at the heat under his tongue. “God, you’re beautiful.”

Ray was panting hard but smiled down at him, a faint sheen of sweat at his hairline. Ryan smirked back at him and kissed the mark. It wasn’t as dark as the others yet but he knew it would bruise the deepest. “Rye…”

“You are.” Ryan moved back and knelt between Ray’s spread legs, easing his knees up under the Lad’s thighs. It was easy to drag him that bit more into his lap, Ray spread out like a marked feast and his cock so obviously aching in his underwear. He wanted to take care of that but there needed to be one more bite. They were both craving it - the last step to a final release. “My gorgeous Omega. My sweet mate, doing this for me, letting me play.”

Ray nodded eagerly, parting his legs more only to have them caught in the Alpha’s hands. He stared, open mouth and panting, as Ryan lifted his leg up and easily hooked it over his shoulder. His own leg looked so slight compared to the Alpha’s broad shoulders, the strong cut of his jaw. “Ryan.”

“One more,” Ryan puffed out, breath tickling the inside of the Omega’s knee. “One more bite, Omega. Do you want it?”

Ray nodded again, glasses jolting on his face and nearly falling off. Ryan carefully plucked them up and set them aside, keeping his mate pinned and spread. He trailed kisses up his thigh until he hit the line of his underwear. He pushed it up and the skin there was buttery smooth, the hair there just as soft against his lips. 

“Do it,” the Omega whimpered pathetically, squirming below his mate. 

“What?” Ryan teased, breath tickling Ray’s thigh. There was a new depth in his eyes, a dark Alpha need he usually denied himself. It had his mate shuddering and slicking himself. “You think I’d leave you wanting? You’re not nearly marked up enough.”

Ray’s breath hitched noisily and he tipped his head back, showing off the smooth curve of his throat. “M’good, Alpha. Please? Mark me.”   
  


Ryan groaned, the sound pulling from deep within his chest. His mate’s display was almost textbook seduction, submissive and tempting in every way. Ryan knew he’d be a helpless knothead when the Omega’s heat came. He cupped Ray’s jaw and turned his head back to face him. Ray’s eyes were as dark as his own and his cheeks were rosy warm.

Ryan had never seen someone so lovely.  _ God, I’m lucky. _

“Right here.” He kissed his inner thigh, his fingers trailing all the way down his mate’s body until he could hold his hip. Ray keened as he was held down, teeth just grazing the skin. “So you can remember me every minute at work.”

“Like I could fucking forget,” Ray hissed, voice low as he mimicked a rumble out of frustration. “Just fucking do it, you teasing-” His voice cut out into a high pitched whine as Ryan’s teeth sunk deep into his thigh. It was so close to his cock and he was  _ aching _ . He writhed helplessly on the sheets as the pain sharpened to a razor edge. “ _ Alpha _ !”

Ryan snarled around the flesh between his teeth and he lost himself for a moment. It was all  _ matebreedmine  _ until his mate cried out for him. He eased his bite before it went too far and rumbled at the way Ray’s breathy cry filled the room. He could smell his mate’s arousal and the salt of tears but that was part of this unique pleasure. He feared Ray was overwhelmed so he listened close, even as he hooked his fingers in the Omega’s underwear and started sliding them down. 

Ray didn’t know why he was crying. It wasn’t… _ really _ crying. But his vision was blurry from a thick swell of tears and he felt hot all over. The bites felt like points of fire and he basked in the flames, riding the high. He could feel the last tug of something before his legs were spread by firm hands. His head lulled as he tried to figure out what was touching. Something wet, pressure, and then the long drag of a tongue up to the swollen head of his cock. Twin tracks of tears slipped down into his hair and then he could see.

Ryan was swallowing down his cock like it was nothing, nose brushing through tight dark curls. The sensations all started to blur together - the throb of his cock and the bites and his own heart. He thrust up between his mate’s lips. Ryan’s name was on his tongue but he couldn’t speak, couldn’t do more than weak moans as his mate took care of him.

He reached down and threaded a hand through Ryan’s hair, tightening up all over before he came. Ray could feel his mate gladly drink him down, tongue rubbing soothingly under the head and taking down every drop. There was something intimate about it under the haze of lust, more of that primal attitude they could indulge in. 

That was the last semi-coherent thought Ray had for a while. He sank into the bed and drifted, whole body buzzing pleasantly from the tips of his toes all the way up to his cheeks. He whispered his mate’s name but even he couldn’t hear it. What he could hear was the Alpha’s low, soothing rumble. Ryan was murmuring sweet nothings to him, pressing the sentiments into his skin with each kiss. Ray let himself be sat up on a mound of pillows and be stripped. Lotion was rubbed into each bite mark. It took away the heat and left behind a nice chill but he could feel each one. Collar, chest, hip, thigh - all made by his Alpha. 

He didn’t know when Ryan got up but he must have. The Alpha cupped the back of his head and tilted it up and the water he made him sip was ice cold. It felt good running through him and Ray happily drank, chittering wetly in thanks. The bottle was taken away and he was laid back down, but not left alone. 

Ray blinked dully as the Alpha’s careful fingers started to massage him. It started at his hand, working his fingers and sweeping thumbs over his palm. Up the back of his arm and across his shoulders from the front. They were lighter on his throat, more touch than press, and those thumbs circled tenderly at his temples. Ray’s lashes fluttered before he was able to open them. 

Ryan was smiling at him. “Take it easy, sweetheart. You’re okay.”

Ray let loose the sweetest purr as the Alpha’s hands moved down to the other shoulder, bicep, forearm, all the way to the tips of his fingers. “Feels good.”

He couldn’t believe how bad he was slurring. Ryan gave a warm chuckle before rubbing broad circles down his sides, avoiding the bites but letting him feel it. He dug in harder on his thighs, massaging the muscle to get the blood flowing and wake it up. He kissed each of Ray’s knees as he moved to his calves, feeling more bold with his strength as he worked on down to his feet. There he kept his touch solid so as not to tickle him. He rubbed down the arch to the feel, digging his fingers in, and then up to the balls of his feet.

By the time he was done, Ray was back with him.

“Fuck,” Ray snorted, looking rosy and boneless in their nest. 

“Fuck indeed.”

The Omega shuddered. Ryan’s voice was still husky and he cleared his throat, trying to create a comfortable space. After a scene like that it wasn’t always wise to continue sexual contact. Despite the heaviness in his cock, Ryan felt complete with his Omega’s taste on his tongue and his marks so visible. He didn’t need anything more than this. “How do you feel?”   
  


 

“Insanely good.” He sounded more aware and Ryan felt a wave of relief. “I didn’t realize... you know.”

“How intense it would be?” Ryan guessed, getting a nod. “I should have warned you.”   
  


 

“I trust you.” It trailed off in a yawn. “Sticky.”

Ryan broke into a hundred watt smile. It was true, they were both stained in slick and cum. They’d be glued together by morning.  “God you’re cute. Do you want to shower?”

“Yeah, but…” Ray chewed his lip, one hand reaching out. “Can you lay here first?”

Ryan crooned at him and crawled up to lay beside him. He easily rolled the Omega onto him, tucking him in close and burying his face in his hair. It was rich with Ray’s scent and he breathed it in, his stomach tying up in a good way. Ray’s purr was met with a rumble and though they didn’t say it out loud they needed this cuddle. Their noses dragged over skin in a lazy scenting, hearts calming as they pressed together. 

Under the romance there was science, pheromones and scent markers and sweat coming together for a chemical reaction that flooded them with dopamine. Prehistoric biology coming into play, bonding and brain signals of  _ mateminelove  _ swirling together to make their heads fuzzy.

That was love, and they were okay with it.

“Rye?”   
  


 

“Yeah?”

He nosed at the Alpha’s chest. “Do you have anymore water?”

Ryan smiled and dropped a kiss into his hair. “Yeah, sweetheart, it’s on the floor. Give me a second.”

o0o0o0o

Geoff’s pack parties were always the best. He picked the nicest days, cleaned the pool, loaded up on all kinds of beer, and brought out the grill. Gavin had years of experience under his belt with them, he knew the shopping lists by heart and in the store could be trusted to go fetch a lot of seemingly strange requests. Michael had been a quick study - once they had become mates, he’d turned into a surprisingly great hostess of sorts.

Now the two of them together could run circles around Geoff at the store and the Alpha was glad to have the youthful energy around. It made throwing a party that much easier. 

Everyone Geoff considered pack was allowed over. That was usually about eighty percent of the office though some didn’t consider  _ themselves  _ apart of it. But still, the core group always managed to show up. Geoff loved his pack, his boys (and his few girls, who still looked up when he called for his ‘boys’), and he loved cooking for them. It made him feel like he was providing not only a meal but a safe place for them to bond. 

The rumor of Gavin’s micro-heat had spread through the pack and the party was thrown just two days later. Though the suppressants had kicked back in, Gavin’s body was still pumping out traces of heat pheromones. His lymph nodes were still a little visibly swollen and would be until his body had regulated all his hormones. The others gave him special treatment - he got the biggest steak, the most nuzzles, and the Alphas had to try their best to keep from burying their faces in his throat. 

Michael found Miles and Arryn massaging his mate and nuzzling his hair and had to beat them with a spatula to get them outside. 

“They know I’m yours, Alpha,” Gavin had teased, nose buried in cinnamon curls as he he pressed close to his mate. “All yours.”

Their actual Alpha was out working the grill with Jeremy. The younger Alpha was so much like a pup and they’d bonded rather closely lately. They were pressed side to side now, the eager Alpha watching closely. “Wait to see how they bleed.”

“Bleed?” Jeremy echoed.

“See the juices bubble at the top? They start out looking like blood and then eventually go clear,” Geoff informed him, tapping the edge of his spatula against a few of the patties in front of them. “You want to pull them off right before clear. A little red won’t hurt anyone and you really want to taste the meat without cold centers.”

Jeremy waggled his eyebrows at him and he burst out laughing.

Plates of food started getting put together and handed out so the pack headed out to the sun, basking in the warmth and the good food. Ice cold tea and beer were passed around, some taking their plates to the side of the pool or one of the many chairs set up. 

Miles and Kerry picked off each other’s plates. The others giggled knowingly as Kara and Barbara handfed Lindsay the best of the fruit, both rumbling possessively as they squeezed in on either side of her sun chair. Geoff made sure Ray, Jeremy, and his two mates had plenty on their plates before he got his own much to the amused looks of his fellow Gents.

Once the first round of food was polished off, a few games started up. Some were played inside, others in the pool, but a few of the young Alphas had started a rough-housing game in the far yard with an old football. Lindsay dragged her chair over to watch the bunch of bare chested Alphas wrestle each other and Caiti joined her, perching on her lap while they shared the deep mug of an icy margarita. 

Next to the fence, the Lads had gathered with their two Gents. Ray was soaked in his mate’s scent from their biting session the night before, and the Omega mates were just as coated in their Alpha’s scent. Ryan and Geoff preened as they watched the three chitter and brag about the things they’d done.

“Wow,” Ray breathed as he licked at Gavin’s throat. His tongue tingled as he lapped over the lymph node and he licked his lips when he pulled back. “I can taste something there. That’s so weird.”

“A little taste of a heat cocktail,” Michael stated, eyes hungrily tracking the movement between his friends. “We’re both going off our suppressants next week. If everything lines up right, all  _ three _ of us should hit heat next month.” Michael gave a pointed eyebrow raise, grinning cheekily at Ray’s slight blush.

Ray purred as Gavin pushed him up against the fence and closed in on him, burying his face in his throat and pawing at his t-shirt. Ray rubbed his cheek against him and lazily hooked his fingers in the Brit’s thin belt, looking to his mate with a teasing wink. Ryan couldn’t even pretend to be jealous at such a sweet sight, especially when Gavin was pulling at the other’s shirt to expose the bite marks. They were perfect Alpha imprints surrounded by dark bruising, all shining with healing balm.

“These are so pretty,” Gavin crooned, mouth pressed under Ray’s jaw for an open mouthed kiss. “Ryebread did such a great job. You smell  _ decadent _ , X-Ray. Warm and sweet.”

“I want some like that,” Michael grumbled.

“Me too,” Gavin chirped.

Geoff chuckled. “Anything for my boys.”

Gavin let out a happy trill and wriggled his hands up under Ray’s shirt, rubbing over his sides before pressing flush against him. The younger Omega chirped in surprise but laughed it off, nuzzling him back.

Michael almost asked to get in on the action but he watched instead as he patiently waited his turn. Ray and Gavin looked precious entwined like that, rubbing cheeks while their hands sluggishly dragged over one another to rub in their scents. 

They’d all end up piled on the couch anyway, he could wait a couple hours to get his hands on them both. If he put on the puppy dog eyes, he knew he’d be able to get Ryan and Geoff in on it too. 

****  
  
  
  


 

 


	81. Geoff, Michael, and Gavin XIII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sex, sex, sex (also, Gavin heals)

**Feedback keeps this train rolling. ENJOY THE PORN!!!**

 

* * *

 

 

Michael unlocked the front door and twisted the knob, shifting the grocery bag up higher as he bumped his hip against the wood. He kicked off his shoes and closed the door easily with a swipe of a shoulder. His nose caught a familiar, comforting scent that stirred up some warmth within him. Earthy, floral, with that sweet hint of Omega lust. It made his mouth water. He dropped the bag and plucked out his earbuds, sniffing the air for the source. 

 

There was a whine from the living room, whispering. Michael walked out of the entrance hall and saw just what was going on. 

 

The couch had been pushed at an angle like it had got caught up in some rough housing. Geoff was hunched on the couch and from the shock of golden brown hair, Gavin was beneath him. The Omega was grinding into him, long fingers dug hard into the Alpha’s shoulders, but was whimpering the word ‘ _ stop _ ’. Rage flared white hot in Michael’s chest but it flared out when he saw Geoff pull back and the tender look on their Alpha’s face. His lips were swollen and he was flushed, they must have been making out for a while, but the one word stopped him cold.

 

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Geoff rumbled soothingly, petting through the Omega’s hair.  

 

“I don’t want to muck things up with Michael, for either of us,” Gavin babbled nervously, sounding a little past high strung. What if he gets mad? Please, Geoff, please, I don’t want my boy mad at me.”

 

Geoff looked like he’d been gutted. “Oh, baby…”

 

Michael went up to the back of the couch and reached down to thread his fingers with Geoff’s in their mate’s hair. It caught their attention and Gavin stared at him with something like fear in his eyes, freezing under their Alpha. “Gavvers.”

 

Gavin’s lower lip trembled. “Michael.”

 

Michael cupped the back of Geoff’s neck with his free hand and pulled him into an open mouth kiss, drawing a moan from his Alpha. He made sure to lay his claim, dragging teeth over his soft lip as he pulled away. Geoff chased him for another kiss but he denied him with a smirk. 

 

“Daddy,” Michael purred, watching with dark satisfaction at the Alpha blushed all the way down to his shirt line. “What are you doing with our baby boy?”

 

Gavin’s pupils blew out  _ hard  _ and he keened in the back of his throat. “Michael!”  He blushed hard, barely able to even process the fact that Michael just referred him as  _ their baby boy _ . He swallowed thickly and his thighs trembled from excitement. His hole was already damp with slick and smelled so sweet to the other two. The Alpha purred and dipped his fingers into Gavin’s hips, threatening to leave bruising prints all over his skin. It wasn’t too harsh - just strong enough to make sure that Gavin knew who was in charge.

 

“I was going to give him a nice, smooth ride so you could lick my cum out of his cute hole when you got home,” Geoff rumbled, hands smoothing over the Brit’s sides when he wriggled. “But he heard you and got spooked. I think our mate thinks he can’t have me without you.” 

 

Michael hummed thoughtfully, thumb rubbing over Gavin’s temple. “That doesn’t sound like a way a  _ mate  _ should think.”  He looked down at Gavin and saw watery eyes that were overcome with a mix of emotions: lust, want, and hesitation. They were beautiful and Michael purred as he saw Gavin stammering, trying to think of an explanation.

 

“We’ve never…” Gavin whispered. “I just, maybe...I didn’t want it to be without you. Didn’t want you to think bad of me, boy.”  He squirmed. “I-I don’t want you to think of me as a scamp or something.”

 

“How could I?” Michael’s brows knitted up. “I thought we talked about this and you felt better? We’re mates, all three of us. We’re all, like, free game? We’re together,  _ all of us _ .”

 

Gavin’s eyes shined with frustrated tears. He was a little too gone to express exactly what he wanted but he just grunted. “I want both of you.”  He spread his legs instinctively, releasing more of the sweet scent that only made the two come closer. Their lips were wet and dripping with want. Michael immediately put his hands all over Gavin, tempting himself to come close between his legs, but stopped himself short. He didn’t want to get  _ too  _ touchy, not yet, especially with their Alpha there.

 

“We’re yours,” Michael promised, sharing a smile with his Alpha as they both pet over their sweet Omega mate. “We’ve just been playing around lately, huh? Time for the real thing.”

 

Gavin gave an eager chirp, wiggling more insistently beneath the Alpha. “R-Really, Michael?”

 

“Yeah, boy. Time for you to ride our Alpha’s knot.”

 

o0o

 

There was no air in the bedroom. Gavin was panting harder than he should have but he couldn’t get a full breath. He was trapped, pinned, and so hard it made his thighs ache. His mates had crushed him between them and he was throbbing all over from their bites. The two had stripped him down to nothing while they unfairly stayed in their boxers, hiding their arousal while his was on full display. Geoff had dragged him into his lap, chest to back and legs spread wide so he could face and be exposed to their Omega. Michael had wasted no time fitting between Gavin’s legs, knees on either side of Geoff’s as the Brit was cradled in their laps.  As much as Gavin wanted to squirm and move around to get a better feel of his Omega mate, he remained still.

 

“Good boy,” Geoff praised as Michael snarled and dug his teeth into the meat of their third’s shoulder. Gavin arched between them, clawing at whatever he could reach.  He choked back a potential  _ beautiful  _ noise that made both of the mates purr. Michael’s little fangs didn’t go deep but he could feel them, pain and pleasure chasing themselves through his entire body.  It caused his hardness to ache and twitch for more and he rolled his hips to get the friction he wanted.

 

Geoff sucked a wet kiss below Gavin’s ears while his fingers played in curls. “Mark our Omega.”

 

Gavin’s head fell back and he shuddered between them. It hurt, but it hurt so damn  _ good _ . His body was littered in marks from both his lovers. Dark red teeth imprints across his furry chest, his stomach, all across his thighs, and his throat was heavily flushed with how marked it was. There would be vivid bruises later and he would wear them proudly.  He knew that it would show who he belonged to.

 

Michael eased his fangs from the other Omega’s soft skin and he was feeling a little lost himself. But Geoff’s fingers were at his nape and he grounded himself with it, anchoring his fingers into Gavin’s hips. “Good, Alpha?”

 

“Very good,” Geoff rumbled, arching Gavin’s head back more to take a look at the new mark. “Pretty.” His eyes trailed down to Gavin’s cock, so cute and pressed up against his stomach in pure need. The head was peeking out of it’s sheath, pink and wet and  _ begging  _ for a mouth. “ _ Very _ pretty.”

 

o0o

 

The power balance of the room shifted as the marking and scenting took the next step. 

 

Gavin had been gentled onto his hands and knees, a position he preferred when he was put between his lovers so he could have them both as he pleased. Geoff was behind him, cradling his hips between his palms and slowly fucking into him. It was everything Gavin had wanted for years, forever, and he almost couldn’t believe it was happening.  He savored every second of it.  Geoff was so thick and heavy inside him, every inch an Alpha cock. The stretch and drag against his rim giving to pure fullness, to pressure, and then the slide against his prostate that made him moan. The bar piercing at the end of Geoff’s cock rubbed against his walls in a new, exciting way he’d never felt. He wanted to lick it, worship it the way it deserved. For now he could only tighten up to  _ really  _ feel it drag against him.  Every single movement drove him crazy, but satisfied him in the best ways. Every slow thrust felt like hot fire shooting through his nerves, leaving nothing but numbing pleasure. He’d missed that feeling. Warm flesh instead of synthetic, a cock to crack him open instead of Michael’s smooth dick that felt so easy to take. 

 

He didn’t want easy. He wanted to be claimed. He  _ craved  _ this.

 

All the teasing, the lonely nights, the fighting - it all faded away, small shadows compared to everything they had now. Everything they’d made together. The nest beneath him smelled like the three of them - citrus and wild flowers and fizzy cherries, all soaked in lust. The blankets and sheets were soft under his clenching fingers and he knew he’d be face down in them by the end of the night. Geoff kept petting along the dip of his back, over his cheeks and hips, soothing him as well as worshipping. He’d never felt so desirable. He felt purely Omega. 

 

Geoff’s thoughts were drowned in the haze of an amazing fuck with his new mate, his Gavin, his first baby boy. He felt so grateful to have protected and loved on this Omega, to watch him grow up and cultivate a solid relationship. The bond between them pulsed to the rhythm of their rapid heartbeats and he felt so  _ connected _ . Gavin looked like liquid sin, something poured right out of Omega porn. The long line of his spine, skin like caramel spread beneath his hands and shimmering with fresh sweat. His hips weren’t as wide as Michael’s but in another life his boy would’ve been prized breeding stock, courted by hundreds of Alphas that would line up for a chance to win his hand. Gavin’s body was one delicious curve down to the fat cheeks of his ass, firm and covered in peach fuzz that tickled his fingers. The Omega smelled like home and sounded honey sweet. Whatever restraints Gavin usually kept on his Omega instincts had been broken. His mate was unhibited and they could all feel it.

 

Maybe it was because they were all cutting loose and enjoying themselves, bonding fully and letting themselves finally take this last step. Or maybe it was because Michael had seized control of the room, guiding his mates as they fucked.

 

Michael had stripped down and was kneeling on the bed in front of Gavin, slowly palming his own cock. Not stroking, just riding the feeling. His eyes were dark as they drank in everything, full lips pulled in a lazy grin as he savored the show. He saw Geoff speeding up and getting lost in the rhythm, saw the way the Alpha’s lips pulled back in a silent snarl. “Easy, Alpha. We’ve got all night.”

 

Geoff immediately obeyed, eyes clenching shut as he forced himself to reduce to a slow-and-deep grind that had Gavin keening. The slower drag against the Omega’s clinging rim was delicious friction and it made his balls tingle, goosebumps breaking out across his thighs. Geoff rubbed his thumb into the bite mark he’d left on Gavin’s ass earlier, a ring of teeth with two distinct Alpha fang prints. He felt a swell of pride in his chest, felt the same as he looked at every mark they’d left. Finally,  _ finally _ , he was truly theirs.

 

“Does he feel better than he tasted?” Michael crooned.

 

Geoff licked his lips. He could still taste Gavin’s slick behind his teeth. “Don’t make me choose, he’s so fucking sweet.”

 

“Yes he is.” Michael pet his free hand through the other Omega’s hair, sweat and scent kicking up. “He felt fucking good on my cock, I imagine it’s even better when you’ve got a thick dick.” The Alpha preened like that, cock twitching inside his mate. “And he’s  _ so _ eager. Everytime we fall asleep together, I wake up and he’s sucking me off or eating me out.”

 

Geoff’s breath gave a noisy hitch. He’d caught them like that a few times. Michael all spread out, pillow tucked into his arms and face half buried in it. Mewling, writhing against the sheets, his freckled cheeks spread by their third mate as he licked the slick out of him. Gavin loved waking his boy up like that, sucking and licking and nibbling until Michael ordered him to hurry up. He loved seeing them like that, all soft in the morning light and shamelessly enjoying each other. If he could have his way they’d never leave the nest.

 

“Our sweet boy.” Michael’s purr brought Geoff back to the present, the Alpha groaning as his mate bore down hard from a brush to his sweet spot. 

 

Gavin let out a mewling noise, just candy sweet and everything that put heat in an Alpha’s blood. The Brit was flushed all the way down to his chest, bite marks turning dark on his throat.

 

“Pinch his dick, just the head,” Michael commanded. “You know how he likes.”

 

Geoff obediently reached around the Omega’s body and found the plump head, rubbing it softly before pinching it between his fingers. Gavin chirped sharply and arched, cock dripping on the bed from the shot of lust that hit him right in his core. Geoff yelped as his mate clenched so tight he was sure it would take his dick clear off. The both shuddered and their third grinned triumphantly. 

 

Gavin’s head dropped down at the heavy rush of pleasure and he panted, open mouth and needy. “Michael, make him knot me. I need it so bad, it  _ hurts _ .”

 

“You love it,” Michael accused with a fond smile, squeezing the base of his swollen cock. “You want that sluthole of yours stuffed with our Alpha. He’s got a fatter knot than Dan, he’s going to break you. And you want to earn it.”

 

“Let me,” Gavin begged desperately, picking his head up and showing off his bitten-red lips. They glistened invitingly. “Please?”

 

Michael brushed his knuckles over his mate’s cheek. “Please what?”

 

The other Omega somehow blushed more. It was cute. “Want to taste you, Michael.”

 

He thumbed at his lower lip. “Want me to use your pretty mouth?”

 

“Yes,” Gavin whimpered, fingers digging into the bed as Geoff kept his slow pace and rocked the Omega as he fucked. “I’ll be good. You taught me, I can do it. Want you both.”

 

Michael felt his dick pulse against his palm as he drank in the image of his mate so needy. Gavin moved with each of their Alpha’s thrusts, whining and squirming as he was taken. “No, Gav, this is just for you. Geoff, tell our Omega how good he is.”

 

Geoff rumbled encouragingly and laid his palm along the front of Gavin’s throat, urging him up toward him. Gavin went with the silent command, getting up on his knees and pressing back to chest with his Alpha. He spread his legs and nearly sat in his lap, whining in the back of his throat as he sank deeper on the heavy cock. He tipped his head over Geoff’s shoulder and felt lips press to his ear, warm and scratchy from his beard. It took a moment to find a rhythm again and they settled into small, rolling thrusts that had the Alpha bottoming out. 

 

“God!” Gavin cried, writhing on his mate’s lap. 

  
“Fuck you’re tight,” Geoff muttered, mouth rubbing just below his ear. The skin was over sensitive and he could feel it in his cock. “Made just for me, aren’t you? Always been mine, Gav.” The Omega nodded mindlessly, grinding his hips and whimpering as the he felt the head of the Alpha’s cock rub over his prostate. Geoff hissed and anchored the boy’s hips, helping him ride. “I should’ve been a real man and courted you the first time around. We could’ve found our beautiful Michael together.”

 

Gavin gave an airy little sigh. 

 

“We could’ve both had him so much sooner, could’ve been right here from the start.” Geoff nipped at the Omega’s skin before dragging his teeth along the shell of his ear. “You pretty little bitch, you would’ve pulled him in so easily.”

 

Gavin tremble at the filthy words and he reached back, sinking his fingers into the Alpha’s hip. “Wanted him. Wanted you.”

 

“And you have us,” Geoff promised, hand trailing down from the Omega’s throat to spread across his chest. “Our good boy, our sweet mate. You feel good, baby boy?”

 

“Yeah.” Gavin’s voice was all breathy and sweet, it felt like it was going to rot his teeth.

 

“Look at him, Alpha. He’s shaking apart.” Gavin didn’t like the glint in Michael’s eyes, that look said he wouldn’t come anytime soon. “Maybe a knot will be too much?”

 

Gavin fell forward and got his hands deep in the bedding, palms digging in for leverage as he started to fuck himself back on his Alpha’s cock. “Knot me.”

 

Geoff’s eyes flickered to Michael’s, waiting for permission and he held the other Omega’s waist. “He sounds ready.”

 

Michael felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up at the Alpha’s husky murmur. 

 

“I want to feel what Michael feels,” Gavin begged, hips stuttering as a well of pleasure hit him. “Want you to claim me,  _ please _ . Want everyone to know I’m yours.” He whimpered and briefly chewed the side of his lip. “Want them t-to know I’m...really your baby boy.”

 

Gavin bowed his head again, hiding his embarrassed blush. There was still some insecurity on that particular line of thought. Everyone knew Geoff and Michael were mates and Gavin was the new addition. New Alphas in the office were always questioning their claim on him, always testing the limits and flirting outright with him. Yet Michael, his beautiful boy, was always given a wide berth. Gavin wanted Geoff to fuck him every day, keep him full and soaked in his scent in the most feral way.

 

Michael took his mate’s chin and tilted his head up. Gavin muttered his name but his mouth was stolen in a sloppy kiss, tongues dragging slowly to mimic the thrusts of the Alpha’s hips. Teeth dragged over his lip and his breath shuddered. “You want to smell like a knotted bitch, Gav?”

 

Gavin wanted to bite his pretty throat in frustration. “Fucking  _ yes _ .”

 

“Good. Me too.” Michael shot Geoff a grin. “Fuck him good, Alpha.”

 

Michael moved back and started lazily pumping his cock, cheeks warm as his Alpha snarled. Geoff grabbed Gavin by the nape and pushed him down, cheek hitting the blankets. He hooked a hand around the Omega’s slick thigh for leverage and started to fuck how they both wanted. Gavin chittered rapidly in pleasure as the grind and friction blended with the deep ache that was almost new. Some of the toys he’d played with had given him a similar feeling but there was a warmth and yield that came with a real cock. 

 

Somewhere in the back of his mind he thought of how Dan hadn’t been big enough to make him feel truly taken but it wasn’t important.

 

Michael’s control slipped as Geoff started to fuck their mate like he meant it. Gavin was so fucking gorgeous beneath their Alpha, just like he’d been beneath Michael. Legs spread so wide, back curved so nicely like the best invitation. The little sounds he made went straight to Michael’s dick and he didn’t think he’d last long like this. They were  _ his  _ and wanted to record it, jerk off to it on the biggest screen he could find.

 

He saw the start of Geoff’s knot and he felt slick drip off him onto the sheets. “Fuck.”

 

“ _ Fuck _ !” Gavin’s mouth dropped open in a drawn out moan as the Alpha’s knot dragged against his oversensitive rim. It was filling up fast, faster than usual. Geoff usually had much better stamina, usually had to put a ring on Michael so the Omega could last with their more drawn out ruts. But this was their first time, something all three of them had looked forward to for what felt like forever. It was heady. They strained toward each other, the sound of flesh smacking echoing their low grunts. Gavin’s nails scratched loudly against the sheets and he pushed back.  _ Please  _ slipped from his lips in endless need. It was a burn, a good burn, and neither wanted it to end. 

 

But Geoff’s knot was getting fat, and the Omega’s body knew what it wanted. Slick gushed around the Alpha’s cock and they both shuddered as his knot started sliding past his rim. The stretch, the vice - they grit their teeth and panted, their mate watching on in wide-eyed fascination. It was almost animalistic.

 

As Michael striped his cock, he realized  _ this  _ was how porn was supposed to look. 

 

The fattest part of Geoff’s knot stretched Gavin’s hole and the Omega choked. “ _ Alpha _ .” 

 

Geoff hunched over his mate, protective instincts kicking in as he covered the Omega’s body. Gavin pushed back against him, mouth hanging open to let out a slew of needy noises as he chased his own pleasure. They could both feel the building pressure between their thighs and the slip-slide of the knot only pushed them further. They ground together and Gavin yowled in frustration as his mate’s knot edged achingly slow inside him. 

 

Geoff pressed his mouth to his mate’s nape. “Good boy. Just relax.”

 

Gavin chittered submissively, shoulders hunched. “It won’t fit.”

 

“It will.” Michael promised breathlessly.

 

“I-It’s…” Gavin chewed on his lip, face burning hot as the swell of the knot finally started to pass. “Bloody  _ fuck _ , it’s too…”

 

Michael ran a hand down the Omega’s back and lightly fisted his hair. “Too big, Gav? Is our Alpha going to break you?”

 

Gavin nodded and Geoff felt pure heat pulse through him. He braced one hand on the bed and the other on the Omega’s hip, hips snapping forward. A snarl mixed with a sweet whine as Geoff’s knot finally popped inside, Michael’s muffled noises getting lost in the heat of it. His mates rutted together, unable to pull away but still rocking together for the sheer pleasure. 

 

“Oh fuck! Fuck!” Gavin smiled, winded but looking blissful. “Alpha, I’m-”

 

“Shit,” Michael grunted, fist at the smooth base of his cock. “Breed him, Daddy.”

 

Geoff hunched over the Omega and humped forward. His knot throbbed, balls drawn tight and aching right before he shot. Cum gushed deep up inside Gavin and he could truly feel the warmth and pressure, strange but satisfying as an Omega. It hit all the right buttons and he barely had to rub his own cock against the sheets before he came. Geoff came in waves, knot tugging at the Omega’s rim as he spilled thick into his clenching hole.

 

“God damn,” Geoff huffed, cheek pressed to a slick shoulder blade as his hips kept moving. Red flags of color marked his cheeks and his eyes were hooded, blue swallowed up. He groaned as he felt himself come a third time, coating his mate in cum and scent. He kept one shaky forearm braced on the bed and the other wrapped around Gavin’s middle to keep his weight off him. Every inch of them was sweaty but the skin to skin contact felt amazing. Every inch of them that touched as so  _ alive _ , tingling and crackling with nerves. 

 

Gavin trembled as his dick rubbed through the slick of his own release, gradually softening but still sensitive in a good way. A purr kicked up in his chest and he rubbed his palm over the forearm around his stomach, petting his Alpha for such a good job. Geoff felt almost horrifyingly large within him, knot and cock at their peak and stretching him wide. Geoff’s wordless rumble made him smile. 

 

“Good Alpha.” Gavin grinned at how wrecked he sounded. Somewhere his voice had cracked and it was just a husk.

 

“Very good Alpha,” Michael hummed. He carefully let go of his cock, still hard and wet-tipped, and leaned over. He dragged his fingers over Gavin’s stomach and scooped up the cum there, sharing a languid kiss that had his mate cooing. Michael pried himself away from his sweet mate and moved past him, crawling up behind Geoff. The Alpha carefully sat up with a curious noise but smile when the Omega pressed up behind him. He could feel Michael’s dick rubbing up against his back and he wet his lips, wondering just how his mate wanted to finish off.

 

Michael traced wet fingers over his Alpha’s mouth. He purred as Geoff took them so hungrily, lips parting and tongue lapping at the cum there. Every drop was lovingly licked off the digits, dark lashes falling low as a deep rumble built in the Alpha’s chest. Gavin watched over his shoulder, lip caught between his teeth. Watching Michael’s fingers pump between their mate’s pink lips was one of the most erotic things he’d ever seen. Geoff looked so handsome above him, skin flushed around his tattoos and seemingly trapped in Michael’s grasp. 

 

“Looks like you’ve got two boys to take care of, Alpha,” Michael purred sweetly, nuzzling just under his mate’s pierced ear. Geoff growled, still on edge with his knot buried deep in their third and another round of seed pouring out of him. “Think you can manage to eat me out while you keep breeding our boy?”

 

Geoff’s hand shot up and clamped down on Michael’s neck. The Omega mewled and rubbed up against him, thighs shaking as a fresh gush of slick wet his rim. “Get on your hands and knees above him.  _ Now _ . Gavin. Down.”

 

Gavin hid his grin against the bed as he lowered as much as he could, anticipating Michael’s warm weight above him and some neck nibbles. “Yes, Alpha.”

 

o0o0o0o

 

They went long into the night, taking a break for dinner and water that only lasted half an hour before Geoff was getting on his knees to suck Gavin off and they started all over again. Their cells had been long abandoned in the living room, notifications piling up as they fucked through the evening.

 

As two AM rolled around, the three collapsed into the filthy sheets. They were all marked up, shining with sweat and whole bodies throbbing pleasantly. They were exhausted in the best way. None of them had ever gone for hours like that before, none of them had ever felt the urge to. They’d fucked in every position they could think of, keeping it strangely tame considering all the kinkier stuff they had squirreled away. No collars, no cock rings, not a paddle or a restraint to be seen. Not this time. It hadn’t been about that. This had been a bonding, the end of a long courtship of a relationship they had all worked for. Their throats wore badges of bites, red nail marks streaking down their backs and over their thighs. Hickies littered them, too many to count. 

 

Prominent twin Omega fang marks on each of Geoff’s inner thighs and mirrored at his throat. The Lads were most proud of those.

 

The scenting and whispers died down, mouths and fingers turning sluggish in their exploration. Breaths evened out as they got settled. The A/C whirred and their skin prickled as they cooled off. They’d be dehydrated and starving in the morning but they were much too tired to do anything now. 

 

Geoff laid on his side, lips curled in a lazy smile. Gavin faced him, smiling back and sprawled out on his back. One hand was brushing Geoff’s stomach, the other buried in Michael’s damp hair. It clung to his fingers and he dragged his nails along the other Omega’s scalp. Michael’s head was pillowed on the Brit’s stomach, fast asleep and curled around him. They could just now see his freckles as the sex flush disappeared and they both thought how cute he was, faintly purring and all protectively tangled with the other Omega.

 

Geoff brushed his fingers over Gavin’s cheek. “You’re really fucking beautiful. I never tell you that.”

 

Gavin looked down bashfully, watching the marks he’d left on his mate’s stomach move with each breath. “You told me that a lot when I first moved in. Called me pretty all the time.”

 

Geoff chuckle quietly. “Well, I  _ was  _ in big gay love with you but trying to suppress it.”

 

“I thought I’d lost you,” Gavin confessed in a hushed whisper, ashamed that Michael would hear. “I moved away to try and prove something and I bollocksed everything up.”

 

Geoff frowned. “You didn’t.”

 

“I came back and you had this gorgeous Omega,” Gavin continued, leaning into the palm that cupped his jaw. “I thought I’d lost everything I’d realized I wanted. I felt so awful, I drank so much.I just wanted to be around you both, feel what you shared because I’d never-”

 

A thumb laid on his lips and he quieted down.

 

“Gavin, look at me.”

 

Gavin couldn’t drag his eyes up and the Alpha tucked his thumb under his chin, raising his head until their gazes met. Geoff scooted closer and leaned over him, the Omega sighing quietly as he was taken in a heartbreakingly tender kiss. The Alpha’s fingers danced lovingly over his throat and his heart skipped a beat. 

 

“I love you,” Geoff promised against his lips. “I’ve loved you forever and I never tell you that. I love  _ you _ , both of you. You’re my boys.” He bumped their foreheads and the Omega shuddered in pure happiness. “My mates.”

 

Michael grumbled about them being gay and they laughed, noses brushing playfully.

 

“Shut up and sleep,” Geoff teased lightly, pinching his cheek. “We’ll be here in the morning.”

 

That thought spread warmth all through Gavin’s chest and he nodded.

 

He wouldn’t be alone again. He could feel it. 

  
  
  



	82. Ray's Heat - I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ray falls into his heat. Burnie falls into a hospital bed.

**Author note: Reminder this is like 2013-ish, story all togehter kind of takes place over two years. Starts in like 2011, that means like this is right before they moved offices for the first time - where Ryan was still on the couch and didn’t have a spot for himself**

 

* * *

 

 

Work got hectic fast. So many new projects, so many series to shoot. Everyone was pulled in a dozen directions and it got to the point where the only time they saw each other at work was when they had to record together. The moment the mics shut off, two or three of them had to jump up and leave for some important thing or another. They were skittering all around each other, barely able to brush shoulders before they had to be somewhere else.

 

Jack became the most sought out person of their pack. His grounding, clean scent kept them from getting overwhelmed and he made sure to get one on one time with each of his boys everyday. To his delight, Lindsay and Jeremy started coming to him instead of Josh or Kerry. Usually they kept to their own little sub-packs but with the two of them becoming more involved in Achievement Hunter they were slowly making their way into Geoff’s circle. Their Pack Alpha adored them both like his own kids and Jack was happy to give them each some cuddle time, letting them nuzzle into his throat and curl around him as they took small breaks to clear their heads. It made him feel...paternal, in a way. More maternal in the way he wanted to gather them both up in a nest and protect them from stress. It was the urge he felt with his boys and he was pleased to have two more additions.

 

When they all got home they chilled, vegging out on couches and enjoying their partners and eating heaping meals to make up for the light grazing they did between projects. A couple days turned into a week and by the time the second week mark hit a lot of them were starting to realize they weren’t hanging out with other pack members. It was stressing, especially on the Omegas, and they were feeling the strain. It was an easy problem to fix but they were all so exhausted by the time they got home that they didn’t want to move.

 

Through all of it, the newly fully bonded trio mates could often be found either together or looking for one another. Paired off, sometimes all together, but most importantly in utter puppy love all over again. The threesome had hearts in their eyes with this fresh, solid bond and everyone could see it. Their resurgence of love was palpable and it breathed life into the office. The others fed off it, either with jealousy or adoration it didn’t matter because it was such a potent thing that it was just a relief to see some pure happiness among all the tension. 

 

No one minded when Geoff pulled one of his boys out of a project to scent, to mumble endearments in their ears and force them to drink water before letting them go. No one minded catching the two Omega Lads tucked into a corner, half hidden as they brushed noses and purred nonsense to one another as fingertips roamed. The three of them were so pretty together. It became almost a game in the office to catch them making out or more.

 

Gavin and Michael caught Ray when they could for nuzzles, checking up on him with the orders from his doctor in mind. He needed to scent with others of his status, regulate hormones and kick his body into gear after such a long incubation period. Ray appreciated it and took the genuine affection for what it was. Even if they didn’t hang out every day and blow off steam, they were bonded in their own way. 

 

Things always evened out, normalized. Except when they didn’t.

 

o0o0o0o

 

Ray navigated his apartment in the pitch black, hands out in front of him as he stifled yawns. He’d woken up out of a restless sleep and pried his tongue off the roof of his mouth, bone dry all the way down to his throat in a way that actually hurt. The light from the clock display on the oven and the bit of streetlamp peeking through the blinds helped his eyes adjust and he got to the fridge. Knuckles bumped clumsily against the handle before he got a good grip and yanked it open. He shielded his eyes and felt around until he found a carton of orange juice.

 

He felt wrung out and so fucking thirsty. 

 

Ray moaned at the first splash of juice across his tongue. He closed the fridge and chugged, juice trickling down his chin as he put it down as fast as he could manage. His thirst felt like a weight in his stomach, a loud and demanding craving that was barely satisfied even as he drank. He wasn’t sure if it was the exhaustion or the haze of sleep but he couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so thirsty. 

 

He only quit drinking when his stomach ached in protest but the craving was still there.

 

“Fuck,” he cursed, shoving the carton back in the fridge. He went to the sink and ran it on cold, leaning over the edge and shoving his face under it. He drank sluggishly from the stream, eyes never once opening as he swallowed in a kind of stupor. 

 

Ray nearly fell asleep twice drinking from the sink and he didn’t remember getting back to bed but he did. And it was forgotten.

 

o0o0o0o

 

“You smell strange,” Gavin commented, nose pressed to Ray’s nape as they sat together on the office couch. They had ten minutes before Gavin had to leave for a consultation with his doctor about his heat suppressants and they were taking the time to chill.

 

Ray bumped his elbow into the other Omega’s stomach. “Knock it off.”

 

“What?” Gavin chirped, rubbing the sore spot. “You smell like you’re sick or something. Are you taking anything?”

 

“Just some generic sleeping stuff,” Ray answered, sniffing his wrist but smelling nothing. “Is it changing my scent?”   
  


 

“Sort of.” Gavin nuzzled his shoulder. “It’s fine. Couple friends of mine have taken pills for depression and anxiety and whatnot and it’s changed their scents a bit. Nothing to worry about.”

 

Ray relaxed a little, but the thought of his scent changing sat in the back of his head all day.

 

o0o0o0o

 

Austin had a heat wave. Texas was pretty hot all the time but even the locals got a little dazed from the spike. The Rooster Teeth office building wasn’t exactly small. It took a lot of power to keep it cool and that doubled with the heat wave. Sixty or so bodies in one building at any given time, plus the flow of specialized employees - it became too much. The A/C broke on a Sunday and only a few people had to suffer. Unfortunately the repairman they got to come on a weekend couldn’t figure it out and they had to wait until Monday.

 

Burnie got the dreaded call Monday morning that anyone who could fix their unit’s specific problem couldn’t be there until Tuesday afternoon. He started calling around, describing the problem and trying to find anyone at all who could come in, but everyone gave them the same answer. He even started looking for someone to come install a brand new unit but he basically got laughed off the phone. A/C problems were happening all over Austin and there wasn’t an available body for twenty four hours.

 

Everyone in the office was melting but they all had schedules to keep. Some people opted out but the core groups stayed and diligently worked away. The place smelled like a Roman party right before the orgy. Shirts were stripped, leggings swapped for the shortest of shorts, and editing was done almost in the nude just to keep on a proper timeline. It was hilarious and miserable, sweat and musk always in the air. It felt a little primal but no one minded.

 

One person was feeling it a little more than the rest.

 

Ray had nearly sweated through his white tank, shorts sticking to his thighs at his work desk. He had a fan pointed right at him and it helped. Gavin was dripping apart at his desk, a cool back on the back of his neck and his shirt long discarded. They were both flushed and fussy but they kept going, tackling their projects. Burnie had sent out an email that any crazy asshole who wanted to stay could stay the work day but they were closing down at five no matter what. 

 

It was only noon.

 

The Gents and Michael returned with bags full of salads and carrie of cold drinks. Geoff had gotten a cooler and a bunch of fruit drinks and lemonade to help beat the heat. Jack had cold packs for everyone to put on their lower back and necks, nice ones that you had to crack to activate. Michael even had another fan for the room to circulate the air.

 

Ryan walked over and laid his hand on his mate’s forehead, frowning. “It’s really getting to you. You look awful.” He leaned down and sniffed delicately at his hair. “You smell miserable.”

 

Ray shrugged. “The heat’s just making my stomach sick.”

 

“Here, I got you a Frozen Coke.” Ryan took one of the large drinks out of the carrier and set it in front of his mate. He laid a small bag beside it. “Burgers too.”

 

“Thanks.” Ray tugged on his mate’s collar and brought him into a small kiss. “You rock.”   
  


 

“I am the rockiest,” Ryan teased with dorky smile, getting a laugh out of his mate. “If you really start hurting I’ll take you home, okay?”

 

Ray nodded and gave him another kiss, smiling against his mouth. He felt a swell of adoration and pride. It was so potent that he realized he was tearing up.  _ Whoa, where did all that come from? Fucking heat wave. _

 

o0o0o0o

 

Ray had just come in from outside so the warmth he was oozing was written off by sunshine. He’d walked from his apartment and he was sweating a little so it was easy to ignore. Even with all the symptoms present, no one noticed.

 

The Hunters filed out of the office, Michael and Gavin obnoxiously chanting “Tacos! Tacos!” with their bellies rumbling. Ray waited for them all to pass with his eyes glued to the last in line, his Alpha. Once he was in arm’s length he grabbed Ryan and dragged him into a kiss. Ryan flailed a little but kept upright, cheeks turning pink and eyes going wide as Ray pried his mouth open and licked at him. It was dominate and it sent a flash of lust through the Alpha.

 

Ryan grabbed Ray by the waist and kissed back, rumbling faintly as their hips pressed. His Omega’s answering little purr hit his buttons and he tightened his grip. Ray’s fingers laced into the hair at the back of his head and  _ pulled _ , making him moan into his sweet mouth. He broke the kiss and saw his mate’s eyes were smoldering. 

 

“What brought that on?” Ryan teased lightly, squeezing at his hip. “Not that I’m complaining.” 

 

“Just wanted to,” Ray admitted, stomach knotting up like this was their first kiss.

 

Ryan inhaled and his pupils threatened to blow out. Ray smelled delicious, aroused, and he wet his lips with obvious hunger. He splayed one hand on the dip of his mate’s back and backed him up against the wall, flashing fangs in a grin as the other hand shot out and slammed the office door shut. Ray shivered at the sound of the lock clicking into place, his Alpha using the small height difference to his advantage. 

 

“You’re wet,” Ryan accused lowly, a growl creeping up the back of his throat.

 

Ray shifted and blushed darkly when he realized it was true. “Fuck.”

 

Ryan leaned in and brushed their cheeks, fingers creeping along the top of his mate’s cargo shorts. Ray squirmed against the wall as they trailed to the front, thumb rubbing over the button before flicking it open. He opened his mouth to say something, anything, but all that came out was an eager moan. He arched up on his toes and gasped as Ryan scraped his fangs over his puffy scent gland, hand sliding down the back of his pants and under his briefs. 

 

“Someone’s-” Ray bit down on his lip to stifle a surprised moan as two fingers slipped right up inside, curling and hooking  _ right  _ on his sweet spot. His fingers dug deep into his mate’s shoulders, mouth hanging open obscenely pleasure shot through him like sparks. He tried not to squeeze down but it felt too good not to. The  _ squelch  _ of the slow fingerfuck only made his blush darker and his dick harder. He pushed against Ryan’s thigh and then back against his fingers, rocking desperately between the dual feelings. He wanted to  _ scream _ . 

 

“What’s got you so hot, Omega?” Ryan teased, tongue dragging over his throat to taste pure vanilla. There was some spice to it and it was both intriguing and addicting. He wanted to bite down harder, force more of that taste, but he restrained himself. He felt unusually bold and he wondered how easy it would be to bend Ray over the couch and eat him out. His mouth was watering just at the thought.

 

A fist banged on the door. “Hey, assholes! Lunch break, not fuck break.”

 

“Ooh, Geoffery, if they’re having a shag it’s about time. We shouldn’t break it up!”

 

Ray smothered a groan as those thick fingers disappeared. He thumped against the wall and tried to glare at Ryan but all he could do was swallow another sound. Ryan stared right at him, grinning lips parting to let shining digits slip between them. He gawked as the Alpha lapped up his slick, eyes shaded and predatory. It was the rougher side of Ryan he loved drawing out. They withdrew in a slow drag before fangs flashed at him. The Alpha leaned in, grin growing at the way his Omega flustered.  

 

They kissed to the sound of Geoff barking at them to hurry up.

 

o0o

 

They tried to do a rain check later that night but a couple projects kept them busy. Ray got sucked into a game of COD and he fell head first into a marathon, zoning out completely. He’d been feeling off lately and it felt good to just play, keep his mind on autopilot and his fingers moving. 

 

Ryan understood, he always did.

 

o0o0o0o

 

“Fuck.” Geoff sniffed the air when he entered the office. The moment the door shut behind him he could smell it. Sweet vanilla, desperation, fever - it was faint but his nose was tuned in to the smell of his close pack. It was Ray and there was no doubt about that. If it was trickling into the lobby then it had to be saturating their own space. “ _ Shit _ .”

 

Geoff rushed to their office and when he threw open the door it smacked him in the face. He winced at the growing potency. Ray was the only one in the room and the boy looked miserable. Ray had his arms crossed on his desk and his face buried in them, whining under his breath as he tried to make himself as small as possible.

 

“Jesus, kid,” Geoff sighed fondly, both relieved and proud that it was finally happening. “Why did you come in today? Why didn’t you call me?”

 

Ray raised his head and the Alpha felt a surge of protectiveness. The poor Omega’s cheeks were ruddy and his eyes were glassed over, mouth open in a light pant as he tried to fight off the feeling building up within him. It was still very early so he smelled more ‘in distress’ than ‘mate me now’ but Geoff didn’t feel tempted, he felt only concern.

 

“I thought I was okay,” Ray admitted. “It’s gotten worse just now.”

 

Geoff shook his head. “Come on, I’m taking you home.”

 

Ray tried to protest but there was a sudden cramp that took his breath away. He clutched his stomach and whined, looking to the Alpha for help. Geoff walked over and took Ray’s bag over his shoulder before snagging the Omega around the waist, dragging him up out of his seat and tucking him into his side. Ray buried his face against the Alpha’s shoulder and took deep, slow breaths to try and calm himself. The clean, metallic scent was comforting and he put all his weight against him.

 

“You’re going to be okay, kid,” Geoff promised, nose brushing through dark hair. “Let’s get you out of here.”

 

Ray kept his cheek pressed to the Alpha and his hand fisted in his shirt as they started to walk, eyes down as they passed through the office. He was embarrassed but mostly he wanted to curl up and wait out the pain. He was so thirsty and hot already and he knew it would get worst. Geoff felt solid against him and he clung to him for support, trusting him to help.

 

They got to the front doors when Geoff cursed under his breath. “Shit, uh.” He looked between Ray and he doors for a minute before shuffling the Omega over to a clear glass office they used for smaller meetings. “Stay in here for a few minutes, okay? I’m going to go tell the boys and grab my emergency heat bag, then I’ll take you straight to your house. We’ll pick up anything else we need on the way.”

 

“I’ll be fine,” Ray promised. “I’m not that bad yet. I’m just…”

 

“Shaken,” Geoff sighed, lightly patting his cheek. “I know, kid. Heat’s can be scary if you don’t know what to expect. But you have me and Ryan, and you’ll be okay.”   
  


 

Ray bit his lip.  _ Alpha _ .

 

“Five minutes. Stay put.”

 

Ray lightly paced the room for a minute before another round of cramps hit him. He hissed and rubbed his stomach to ease the tight pain. He wobbled over to the desk and eased himself up on it, sighing quietly as he got off his feet. For some reason his ankles felt a little swollen and he cursed biology for giving him all the symptoms of menopause. Soon he’d be moaning about being bloated and get cravings.

 

_ Actually, I could go for some ice cream.  _

 

He took off his glasses and rubbed a hand over his eyes. They felt dry and too warm under his fingers and he wondered exactly how bad this was all going to get before it was over. He heard the door open and hoped it was Geoff, but his nose said otherwise. Dry, sweet wine and Alpha musk. He lowered his hand and his stomach dropped. Burnie was standing across from him.

 

“Burnie?” Ray drew in on himself in an effort to look small, an Omega instinct he didn’t even register. 

 

But Burnie didn’t answer. The Alpha was panting heavily, sweat on his brow and a hot flush working from his cheeks down his throat and disappearing into the line of his shirt. He looked messy and glassy-eyed, just  _ staring  _ like he was dazed. The room filled up, Omega pheromones pumping out in answer to the Alpha’s musk. Neither made a move. They looked at one another and tried to steady their breaths, both failing. Ray waited to be pounced on but it never came. Burnie’s hands clenched into fists, knuckles going white before he slowly flexed his fingers out again. Ray watched him do this several times and he felt a flutter of nerves.

 

Whatever Burnie’s primal side was telling him, he was fighting it. The person in front of him wasn’t his boss or his friend. This was a pure Alpha. It was unnerving.

 

Ray saw movement but he didn’t register it. He should’ve predicted his mate’s appearance but the explosion of action was startling. The door flew open, a loose hinge allowing it to  _ crack _ off the wall that chipped the glass. Ryan was snarling, lip drawn back to show off fangs as he seized a fistful of Burnie’s shirt. Ryan wasn’t a physical, violent kind of person but he didn’t hesitate to strike. The older Alpha didn’t see the punch coming and it stunned him into submission, head whipping painfully. 

 

Ryan took him down to the ground with a fierce growl, hovering and fighting back the need to strike again. “Get the fuck away from him.”

 

Burnie snarled back, teeth stained with blood. He fought off the shock of the blow and he felt the urge to  _ claw _ . “Fuck you.”

 

“He’s not a piece of meat, you fucking-” Ryan’s balled fist was snatched and jerked aside, throwing him off balance. He wobbled and Burnie took advantage, surging forward and flipping him onto his back. Ryan winced as his shoulder blades hit the unforgiving carpet and the other Alpha’s knee dug into his thigh, palm digging into his ribs. They grappled briefly, shoving and pushing at each other on the floor in an archaic struggle. 

 

Burnie got him by the throat and Ryan panicked just long enough for the other to use it against him, throwing him up against the glass wall. Ryan hissed through his teeth and glared at his friend who was crouched over him, oozing dominance. Ryan wasn’t buying it. He stared the other down, ignoring the blood smeared across his scowling mouth.

 

“What the hell’s wrong with you, Burnie?” Ryan demanded, curling his fingers around the wrist of the hand pinning him. “That’s my  _ mate  _ and he’s started his heat. Why the hell would you be in here?”

 

Burnie visibly grinded his teeth.

 

“You’re not his Pack Alpha,” Ryan reminded him in a slow, quiet tone as he squeezed his wrist. “You lost that privilege a long time ago when you started doing stuff like this.”

 

There was no recognition in those eyes.

 

There was a flurry of footsteps before a small group piled in.

 

“Ryan!” Jack got to Burnie first, hooking his arms under the Alpha’s to try and haul him up. “Get off him!”

 

Burnie jerked out of his grip but Joel was right there to snag his partner around the waist, holding him still long enough for Jack to get a better hold to keep the Alpha’s fists down.

 

“Michael!” Joel winced as the man pulled at them, darkened eyes set on Ryan like he wanted to set his fangs in him. “Stop it! You’re not thinking straight. This room reeks of Omega heat, you need to get fresh air and - God damn it, Michael,  _ stop _ !”

 

Burnie snapped his teeth at Jack and the Beta held tighter.

 

Joel grit his teeth and helped drag the Alpha backward. “We have to get him to Matt. His office is full of neutralizer.”

 

Burnie bared his teeth at Ryan in a blatant challenge. “Coward.”

 

Ryan roared and pushed off the wall, ready to pounce. He hadn’t seen Kara come in but he felt her palms on his shoulders, felt her strength as she pushed him back against the glass. Though she wasn’t a big woman, she managed to block his view of Burnie as they dragged the Alpha out. “Ryan? Ryan, it’s okay.”

 

A whimper caught Ryan’s attention and he caught eyes with his mate. Ray was under Michael’s arm, Geoff checking him over out of concern, but the Omega was looking only at him. The scuffle had sent him further into his own head. He looked ready to tip head first into his heat. 

 

“You have to go tell Matt what happened, it needs to be official,” Kara insisted, squeezing his shoulders. Ryan looked helplessly between her and his Omega in clear distress, lip getting caught between his teeth. “Ryan, it’s  _ important _ . This needs to be handled properly for HR because everyone is watching right now and the last thing we need is someone accusing of being some sort of Omega Farm.” 

 

Ryan turned and looked out the glass wall to see most everyone in the lobby and the far part of the office had stopped what they were doing to stare. Many looked surprised but there were a few he couldn’t put names too who were clearly upset, taking things out of context to see only an Omega in heat and two Alphas fighting over him. It wasn’t exactly good PR.

 

Ryan accepted what he had to do and looked to his mate. “Ray, I’m sorry.”

 

The Omega whined and pushed closer to Michael.

 

Ryan logically knew the faster they solved this little scrap the sooner it would be over and he could come back. He drug his feet but he went with Kara, eyes reluctantly dragging away from his mate.

 

Ray choked as another cramp hit him. “Fuck!”

 

Geoff turned his head and made him look at him. “It’s okay. It’s normal and natural. I’ve got some cramp reliever in the bag and we’ll get you all set up at your apartment.”

 

“I-I need…”

 

“What do you need?” Michael prompted.

 

“ _ Ryan _ .” Ray buried his face in the Omega’s shoulder. “Please, I need him, I have to…”

 

Michael smoothed his hair. “You want Ryan to help you?”

 

Ray nodded and the Alpha frowned. “That might be the heat talking.”

 

“It’s not, I promise,” Ray assured him, rubbing a palm into his stomach to ease the hurt there. “Can you ask him to come? If he doesn’t want to, don’t make him, but I really want him there.”

 

“Have you two talked about it?” Geoff prompted.

 

Ray felt himself shudder and his thoughts were starting to slip away. “Not exactly.”

 

Geoff mulled it over, weighing the Omega’s uncertainty against his gut instinct. “I’ll ask. Just because I know how committed you two are and he’s the last Alpha in the world who could ever hurt you.”

 

“Thank you.” Ray pulled himself out of Michael’s arms and threw himself at the Alpha, hugging him tight around the neck. He moaned softly and his knees threatened to give out. 

 

Geoff rumbled and held him tight. “Okay, kid. Time to go. Michael, grab the emergency bag I dropped. We need to get Ray home.”

 

“Hell yeah, he needs to get the fuck out of here.”

 

o0o

 

Burnie dissolved as he got farther away from the Omega and his potent scent. He came back to himself in pain waves of nausea, his surroundings growing clearer as he breathed in the smell of his friends and his boyfriend. He started to shake in Jack’s grip, sweat breaking out in a thick sheen as he tried to fight his roiling stomach. By the time they got to Matt’s office, he was blanched to a sickly white. He stumbled into the wall when Jack let go of him and clung there for balance, world taking a spin.

 

Ryan watched him. He suspected it was an act but he he didn’t call him out. “I found him in the room with Ray. If he’d put a hand on him I wouldn’t have been able to stop. But he was just standing there, he was practically nonverbal. I didn’t know what he was going to do and I just...snapped, okay?” He looked down at his hand and flexed his fingers, knuckles still flush. Matt looked a little disappointed but understanding, concern mounting. “I could smell my mate’s distress. Any Alpha would have done the same seeing someone like  _ him  _ in the same room as their Omega.”

 

Burnie started heaving and they all looked over, concern creasing their faces. Joel grabbed the trash can just in time to get it in Burnie’s hands. The Alpha hunched over the can and threw up everything he’d eaten that day. Joel winced at the wet splashes against the plastic bag but he stood beside him to rub his back, rumbling softly deep in his chest.

 

“This has to stop,” Matt breathed out, hand scrubbing over his eyes.

 

“Can you guys lay off him for a fucking second?” Joel snapped at his friends, hand splayed protectively between Burnie’s shoulder blades. “He didn’t actually do anything besides get in that room. He’s been better, hasn’t he? He didn’t touch him, he didn’t say anything shitty, he just…” He sighed as Burnie started to dry heave, rubbing his back to try and soothe him. He sounded like he was in pain and it hurt his heart. “Look at him. He’s sick.”

 

“Fuck.” There was no growl left in Burnie’s voice. It was thin, reedy, like he was on the verge of crying. The trashcan dropped back to the floor and he braced his palms on the wall, swaying on weak feet. “Fuck, what...what happened?”

 

Ryan frowned. “What do you mean?”

 

Burnie tried to stand up straight but everything ached. He whined in the back of his throat and rubbed his upset stomach, sweat getting in his eyes. “I...I was coming down the stairs and then you guys dragged me in here. I smelled an Omega and it all goes fuzzy”

 

Joel cupped the back of his head and leaned down to meet his eyes. “Michael. You were staring Ray down like you were going to jump him. You freaked Ryan out so bad he took you down. You got hit...you don’t remember that?”

 

“Sorta?” Burnie slurred. He wiped his hand over his mouth and stared dully down at the blood on his palm. Horror crept up like bile and he choked. His ribs felt like shards against his lungs and if he had anything left in his stomach it would’ve forced its way out. Whatever primal Alpha haze had taken over him was long gone and he felt raw all the way through. He couldn’t exactly remember every detail but he remembered Ryan under him, the shock of being hit, and Ray. That sweet Lad and his terrified look, the sweet smell calling to him...

 

He could have hurt him, could have done worse than hurt him.

 

“There’s something wrong with me,” he wheezed, blindly reaching out for his boyfriend. Joel took his hand and squeezed, carefully drawing him into a hug. “Joel, I - I could’ve -  _ God _ . Ray, is he alright? Did I do anything?”

 

“No, no, he’s okay,” Joel promised quickly. He nuzzled into Burnie’s damp curls and rested his head on his shoulder, rumbling soothingly as the man nuzzled weakly at his throat. “And you’re going to be okay too, Michael. We’ll get you help.”

 

Burnie clung to him, fingers digging hard into the Alpha’s arms. Tears burned his eyes and his breath hitched in an ugly sob. “I-I don’t know what’s wrong, I feel...I’m  _ wrong _ , Joel, I’m fucking wrong.”

 

Joel hushed him sweetly and hugged him close. “We’ll make it right, Michael. I promise. You’re going to be okay.”

 

Ryan jumped as a hand landed on his shoulder but calmed when he saw Matt’s kind smile. “We’ve got it from here, Ryan. You need to go take care of your mate.”

 

Ryan made a face, torn. “I can help take Burnie to the hospital.”

 

“It’ll be fine,” Matt assured him. “No offense, man, but I think he’d be more comfortable with me, Joel, and Gus took him. He’s finally ready to get help but who knows what he’ll think in an hour. We might have to convince him again and we’ve known him for years. You’ve got Ray to think of. We have this covered.”

 

Ryan nodded reluctantly and headed to the door. By the time he got into the hallway, he’d already slipped into the mindset of a protective mate. He started making mental lists of what he had, what he needed, and who could cover his work for him while he was distracted.

 

Joel eased Burnie onto the couch and let him scent at his wrist, shooting a look at Jack who had stayed strangely stoic through the whole episode. “I know you’re upset right now.”

 

“Beyond upset,” Jack grit out.

 

“Can you please get Kara back in here? And message Geoff for me.”

 

The Beta pursed his lips.

 

“Please, Jack?” Joel swallowed thickly, voice strained. “We need four Alphas to admit him for treatment.”

 

“Fine.”

 

o0o0o0o

 

The door to Ray’s apartment was unlocked and he felt a flare of panic before he saw Geoff sitting in the living room.

 

“He’s here now,” Geoff said into the phone, glancing at him. “I’ll be there in like half an hour. Try to wait for me, okay? Yeah, yeah. Bye.” 

 

He hung up and got to his feet, smiling a little. 

 

“Hey, Rye. I got him all situated for the moment but it’s not me he wants. He took some meds for the cramps that should keep the worst of them away. I saw there was a few heat shakes in the fridge but I had some more in my bag, and a bunch of different protein bar that kind of taste shitty but they are literally bursting with all the good shit his body needs. Are you two going to be okay?” He sucked his teeth for a moment. “There’s no chill way to say this but I know you guys haven’t knotted or gone full ass into stuff yet.”

 

Ryan’s ears burned. “Jesus, Geoff.”

 

“I know!” His voice broke and it made the other Alpha chuckle. “It’s just shit that has to be asked. Are you guys going to be okay? A heat is fucking strong, Rye. I don’t put a lot of stock in that societal bullshit virginity fantasy, but having your first time during a heat isn’t really the route you want to go with a mate. Not if you’re serious. He won’t remember half of it and he’s going to be screaming and demanding for everything you can give.”

 

Ryan held a hand up. “Geoff. Come on. You know me, and you know Ray. We haven’t exactly had a big discussion about it but I’ve thought about it. We’re not going to...you know. But I’ll take care of him.” He scrubbed a hand through his hair, worry and excitement swirling around inside him. “I didn’t want to make him worry about his heat anymore than he already was but I packed a pretty extensive heat bag for him and hid it in the closet.”

 

“That’s smart.” Geoff glanced at the bedroom. “He  _ did  _ tell you he went to the doctor, right?”

 

Ryan nodded, smiling assuringly. “It’s not a secret, Geoff. He was trying not to worry me but I figured it out. It was responsible of him with his heat delaying so long after presenting.”

 

Geoff gave one of those crooked smiles. “You two really are something. Well, I think you guys will be fine. You don’t need an old man micromanaging.”

 

“I’ll call you if we need anything.” Ryan frowned in concern. “Are you going to go help Burnie?”

 

“Yeah,” Geoff breathed out, fingers twitching like he wanted to do something with them. The reality of what was going to happen was starting to hit him and he was getting anxious, but they’d all known it was a long time coming. He was torn between wanting to watch over the newly mated couple and to go get his friend the help he so desperately needed. Even if Ryan and Ray were just now warming to the idea of ‘mate’, he had no doubt they would be fine. “I’ll leave you to it. Me and the Lads will be on high alert, call any of us for anything.”

 

“Will do, boss.” Ryan brushed shoulders with him when he passed. “Take care of Burns. I miss him.”

 

Geoff nodded. “We all do, buddy. You two have fun.”

 

Ryan locked the door behind Geoff and went to the bedroom, following his nose. Ray was in his bed on a nest of very familiar clothes, purring and rubbing against them. They were all the things Ryan had left here over the past few months - boxers, t-shirts, sweats, even socks. They were all piled up for the Omega to scent at. Ray was purring loudly but he already looked exhausted from the cramps and the flush of heat. 

 

“Ryan?” Ray’s voice muffled with his face pressed into one of the Alpha’s hoodies. His body was struggling with the new flux of sensations and it showed in his sluggish rutting.

 

“I’ll be right back,” Ryan promised before he went to the bathroom. He looked under the sink and found the Pre-Heat body wash he’d bought so long ago, double checking the label and checking off all the essential oils and nutrients to soften and relax an Omega body. He ran the water hot and added a hefty drizzle of the aid. He was glad he’d thought ahead and he dug a neck pillow out of the cabinet along with two wash clothes. There was an unused towel he’d bought on a whim just for this. It was fluffy and tan, soft to the touch. 

 

All those things were set aside so he could turn off the water and leave to fetch his Omega.

 

“Ryan,” Ray whined when the Alpha started to strip him, fussing as the cramps started to come back. They were more mild but miles from comfortable. His skin felt like it was buzzing and it itched terribly, little marks already over his arms from scratching. “I feel like shit.”

 

Ryan kissed his temple before helping him pull off his shirt. “I know, sweetheart. The bath is going to help a lot.”

 

Ray pressed his nose to Ryan’s neck and lazily held on as he was picked up bridal style. Any awkwardness about nudity had fizzled out a long time ago. How easily Ryan carried him was impressive and he purred over how lucky he was to have such a mate. Ryan was so careful with him, even getting his shirt wet as he lowered him into the bath. The water was almost too hot at first and he flinched but Ryan hushed him and he adjusted. There was something silky in the water that felt like a caress on his skin. He sunk into the water with a relieved sigh, purring lightly when his Alpha tucked a waterproof pillow under his neck. It was one he’d seen in the back of the cabinet, one with a suction cup that cushioned him nicely from the ceramic. His skin was tingling and he wasn’t sure if it was from the froth in the water or his heat.

 

“Your body is pretty confused,” Ryan mused as he took the wash clothes off the counter and knelt down next to the tub. He soaked them both in the water, one getting wrung out and folded. Ray smiled as his Alpha laid the cloth on his forehead, the sensitive spots of his temples almost humming from the heat. “That feel good?”

 

Ray nodded, lashes fluttering shut. He stretched out in the water as Ryan started to drag the second cloth over his chest. The Alpha washed him with the utmost gentleness, rubbing in the wash massaging over his belly. The cramps eased and gradually they faded away. A more comfortable warmth seeped into him and when he rubbed his fingers together they felt like silk. “What’s this?”   
  


“Pre-Heat soap. It’ll help your body relax.” Ryan rubbed down his Omega’s legs, digging the rag into his calves and thigh muscles to help all those nutrients soak in. “We never really talked about your heat. I’m not going to knot you, okay?”

 

Ray whined sharply. “Fucking shit, Ryan…”

 

The Alpha’s jaw ticked. “I’m serious. No sex, and no toys.”

 

Ray grit his teeth. “So you want to torture me?”

 

Ryan grabbed his chin and leaned over the top, pressing a firm kiss to his lips. Ray melted beneath the commanding touch, whimpering quietly when they parted. “I’m going to take care of you in every way I can. But I won’t let our first time be during heat, and I  _ refuse  _ to let something fake inside you. You’re  _ mine _ . I won’t have you riding any other knot but mine.”

 

Ray went liquid, slumping bonelessly into the water. “Alpha.”

 

Ryan’s next kiss was much more chaste. “It’s my fault. I wanted to take things too slow, I should have listened to you. Having things play out during your heat...it wouldn’t feel right.”

 

Ray reached up and rubbed his fingers over the other’s wrist. “After?”

 

Ryan pressed a kiss to the Omega’s sleek thumb. “After your heat, sweetheart. Anything you want. Right now I’m going to get you through this, and I promise you’ll enjoy it.”

 

Ray chirped quietly, squeezing his wrist. “Mate.”

 

Ryan’s heart swelled and he cupped the Omega’s hand between both his hand, peppering kisses over it and ignoring the tang of soap. “Yes. I’ll be a good mate to you and make you as comfortable as possible. Do you feel good, sweetheart?”

 

“I was itchy, ‘m not now.” Ray’s tongue felt heavy and he frowned. “Warm.”

 

“I’m going to refresh everything and rub you down, then you’ll soak some more before we get back in the nest. Does that sound okay?”   
  


 

Ray smiled, purring low in his chest. “Sounds great.”

 

Ryan drained half the water in the tub and rumbled to soothe his fussy mate when he started to wriggle. He added more Pre-Heat wash below the spout before running it steaming hot. Ray cooed and his toes flexed in pure bodily pleasure at the new sensations. Both wash clothes were taken in the Alpha’s hands and he got Ray to sit up to rub the frothy water over his nape, his shoulders, massaging all down his back and getting miles of goosebumps. Ryan muttered sweet nonsense about how safe he was, how nothing would happen to him here. 

 

Ryan massaged his mate’s temples until he almost dozed off before laying him back in the water, cushioning his head on the squishy pillow. The Alpha left and set up his phone near the bed, turning on one of his sleeping playlists. It was all soft crooning and light piano, sweet sounds that didn’t reach any high points that would jolt you out of a nap. He went and got the thick comforter blanket out of the closet along with the bag he’d packed. After a brief check on his Omega, Ryan stripped the bed of his clothes and laid out the blanket. He tilted down the blinds to keep the light out and give them absolute privacy. He went to the living room and double checked the locks on the door. One of the shakes specified for the first stage of heat was taken out of the fridge. He’d have Gavin bring more snacks later but for now these would do.

 

Ryan gently roused his mate and pulled up the drain. Ray felt amazingly soft after having soaked and the Omega looked much better. Ryan helped get him up and wrapped him up in the towel. 

 

 

Ray tried to dry himself but his hands were sluggish and he quickly gave up. 

 

“Here.” Ryan peeled off the straw that came with the meal shake and twisted off the lid, popping the straw through the plastic. “Drink this.”

 

Ray managed to hold the shake and drink, eyes fluttering open and lips curling in a smile around the straw. He muttered about how good it was but it was mostly intelligible. Ryan just smiled and dried him off, picking him back up and carrying him to the bedroom. By the time he got sat on the bed, mostly dry, the bottle was empty. It got tossed in the bin and the Omega rolled further into the bed, sprawling out. 

 

Ryan turned the music down just a little before he kicked off his shoes and jeans. He crawled in with his Omega, welcomed warmly with a purr and a kiss. 

 

“Alpha.” Ray pushed at Ryan until he rolled onto his back. The Omega wormed his hands up under his mate’s shirt and tucked his face into his neck, breathing in deep lungfuls of his scent. Ryan nuzzled at dark hair and rubbed a hand over his back, feeling the telltale warmth starting to pour off him 

 

“You cold?”

 

Ray shook his head a little. His stomach felt full and that Pre-Heat wash had gotten rid of the itching, his cramps nearly gone now. All he could feel was his Alpha beneath him, around him. There was still a barrier of clothes between them but that would change. For now, this was all Ray wanted. To be close, to touch, to enjoy the quiet time while they could. There was no desperation yet. 

 

Ryan started to rumble. Such a deep, instinctual sound to ease a mate. It worked too well. Within minutes, Ray was fast asleep.

 

* * *

  
  
  


**Comments are sUPERSUPER welcome and fuel all my motivation. Sorry it took so long to get this one out, I was a bit emotionally compromised. The next one is a lot of sex so that might take a bit to get out. Hope you guys liked it!**


	83. Ray's Heat - II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We check in on Burnie, but we're here for the real star - our Ray in his first heat with the Alpha he loves.

Ryan was afraid. He was afraid his instincts wouldn’t kick in the way he needed them to. All through Ray’s nap the Alpha stayed awake and tried to form a solid game plan. He’d helped Omegas through their heats before, though it had either been as a platonic friend just helping out, or as a partner that he had a sexual history with, and no inbetween. Ray was different. Ray wasn’t just a boyfriend, he was Ryan’s mate - a potential partner for the rest of his life. The thought wasn’t a scary one, it was a motivator. He would get Ray through this and he would make this a positive, enjoyable thing. Or so he hoped.

 

The intimacy he was starting to feel was frighteningly potent.

 

Ray started to move against him. The Omega was gradually getting warmer and was starting to kick up small noises of distress. Ryan pet through the boy’s hair and got pawed at in return. His mate was still half asleep, gaze half lidded and dark. “Ray?” He asked softly, pressing the back of his hand to the Omega’s forehead.

 

“Aches,” The Omega rasped, wiggling around to press his nose to Ryan’s shoulder. He felt like he needed to rub himself all over Ryan and scent mark the Alpha as his own. It was uncharacteristically possessive for him. “Sorta’ freaking out.”

 

Ryan ran his hand around to lay over the lad’s nape and gave it a small squeeze. The pressure was all Ray needed to relax and  slump against Ryan. The trust he felt for this Alpha, this man, sometimes scared him as much as the thought of being out of control during his heat did. The tender way Ryan thumbed over his nape erased all his worries. Ray knew he’d be safe with his Alpha. Lips brushed his cheek and Ryan’s voice rolled through Ray. “I’ve got you.”

 

Ray smiled and nosed at him. “I know.”

 

“Still tired?” Ryan hummed, gently scraping his nails against Ray’s scalp.  
  
Ray nodded and rolled over to lay on his stomach. Ryan rumbled roughly as he smelled the fresh wash of slick that came with Ray’s lazy movements. It had been building up for the past hour as the Omega slept but now it was strong enough to bother his mate, judging by the discomforted rolling of his hips. Ryan shut out the minor panic of his logical thoughts, passing himself over to his instincts and hoping they were right. He rolled over to lay against Ray’s back, hushing down the Omega’s little chirp of protest. Ryan’s body covered his mate completely, his elbows braced in the bed to keep the most part of his weight off the lad. The Alpha kissed at the nape under his lips as he rubbed against the Omega. The smell and feel of Ray had him hard so fast he felt a headrush. Ryan rut the prominent bulge of his dick between the Omega’s cheeks and pressed it up against his softening hole. Ray pawed pathetically at the sheets, moaning loudly as the pressure hit all the right buttons.

 

After a few minutes of slow rutting the Omega had calmed down enough to fall back into a doze.

 

“I’m here,” Ryan whispered, kissing behind Ray’s ear as his mate started to slump against the bed. “I’m here, sweetheart.” He rolled off the lad and tucked the drowsy Omega against his side to nap.

 

o0o

 

“I’m here, Michael,” Joel promised, lips pressed behind his boyfriend’s ear. They were in the waiting room of the Alpha clinic Burnie’s doctor had sent them to. The recommendation slip had been passed to the nurse at the station and they were told to wait and fill out paperwork. Joel had bundled his boyfriend onto the nearest couch as the man started to break down, tears leaking from clenched eyes and shoulders hunched. Burnie was shaking from head to toe, arms crossed over his stomach as he roiled in protest. He was clammy, pale - a terrified ghost of his former self. Joel rubbed his back and pressed his forehead into copper curls. “I love you.”

 

“Joel,” the Alpha whimpered.

 

“I know, baby,” Joel rumbled quietly, peppering the sweaty skin with more chaste kisses.

 

Geoff, Kara, Jack, Miles and Michael had all come with them. They were each filling out their own formal form detailing why Burnie should be admitted. Joel had begged Geoff not to bring Gavin. Not because he didn’t value Gavin’s opinion but because he was terrified of what the Omega would have to say. Joel had filled out his form already along with Burnie’s medical information. Allergies, medication, family history, and more importantly the explanation of his burned off bond bite.

 

Burnie’s doctor had given him the official admittance papers, signed them along with a typed letter about the night he’d first brought Burnie to him. Everything was in order and ready to go. All they had to do was wait on the doctor they’d assign Burnie as well as the Head of Admission.

 

A weathered but kind eyed Beta approached them and kneeled in front of Joel and Burnie. “Hello. My name is Kaden. I’m one of the main counselors here and I see we’re not doing so hot.”

 

Joel put on a weak smile and pet through sweaty copper curls. “He’s here, that’s half the battle.”

 

“We have a lot of rumors about Alpha clinics and I wanted to maybe help put you at ease about what you’ll be going through, Mr. Burns. I know your friends are concerned.”

 

Burnie saw the Beta’s sympathetic smile and it actually touched him. His smile was as weak as his boyfriend’s own but it was the first time he’d shown more than a zombified shell in hours. “I guess.”

 

Kaden looked at them both with that same genuine smile. “It’s more than the hormone treatments. They can be frightening at first, we do take precautions. But there’s more than that.” His voice was smooth and assuring. Even Geoff relaxed and he was three seats away. “There’s the counseling afterward and, in my opinion, that is the most effective part once your system has been flushed. We have group as well as one-on-one therapy. Visitations, of course. Medical and nutrition counseling and even classes that focus on the social aspect of the problems that brought you here with us today.”

 

Burnie looked intrigued. Tear streaked and shaking but curious nonetheless. “Like?”

 

“Omega treatment, Alpha management in the workplace, and even one I think you should have taken quite some time ago.” Kaden pointedly looked at the burn on the Alpha’s throat. “We offer a very specialized seminar on Bond Break Management. I’ve heard it does wonders for emotionally healing.”

 

“Healing,” Burnie grunted, one hand prying off his waist to find Joel’s own. Their fingers laced and Joel squeezed. The Alpha was humiliated and bristly but kept it buried for now. “It’s scarred.”

 

Kaden laid a hand on the Alpha’s knee, light and friendly. “We can fix that, Mr. Burns. If you give us the chance.”

 

Burnie took a shaky breath and pressed his face into Joel’s arm, holding onto his hand for dear life. “Yeah…”

 

o0o

 

Ray was dripping slick but he showed no signs of wanting to mate. Hours went by and the cramps stayed away so he could sleep, incubating the increasingly-strong pheromone mix his body was preparing to pump out at the height of his heat. Ray drifted in and out of sleep, but his Alpha was always there to kiss him, rub his back. He even managed to get Ray to eat a handful of cashews and drink two bottles of water as the daylight faded to evening. He needed to get as much fatty protein and water as he could into his mate before everything really kicked off.

 

Ryan was lying on his side, smiling to himself and stroking his thumb across Ray’s hip. His Omega was spooned up against him, sleeping soundly and smelling like his own little corner of Heaven. They fit together so nicely, they always had. He moved his hand up and started massaging Ray’s stomach. He knew the cramps would come back no matter how much medicine his mate took and it broke his heart to know that such pain came with the pleasure of a heat. Ray made an airy little noise as he rubbed at the sore muscles low on the Omega’s stomach. He’d made sure to touch every inch of his Omega to put his scent everywhere. He knew that being scent marked so thoroughly would ease Ray’s biological torture once they got into the thick of things.

 

It was also selfish. He’d knotted his non-platonic partners before. It was the ultimate pleasure in the crest of heat. If he got used to Ray’s tantalizing heat scent now then maybe when he lost his head he’d be able to keep himself from fucking open his needy hole like he knew Ray would beg him to. He needed to be strong and resist, not just for his own conscience, but also because having their first knotting during a heat could irreparably damage the bond that both Ray and Ryan had worked so hard to build between them.

 

Everything was so lazy for now, hopefully it would stay that way for a little while longer. Ryan had done some Googling and it seemed that the first stage of a heat, the slow incline, would last longer when an Omega was in a presence of a familiar Alpha. The ravenous stage would come soon enough, but Ryan was happy to know he could spoil his mate for longer, ply him with fatty snacks and water for the days long lusty trek they had ahead of them.

 

Cuddling with his sleeping mate was nice. Ryan savored this quiet time, this little memory, the calm before the metaphorical storm.

 

“I love you,” Ryan whispered into Ray’s hair. The words had never come between them, he’d never said them intentionally, and if they’d slipped out it was weightless. He’d never looked his mate in the eyes and told him the truth, never voiced the forever promises that whirled around in his head whenever Ray laughed or pressed against his side and stretched up for a quick peck. He knew he was a classic Alpha - a house, white picket fence, a couple dogs, a mate. He wanted all those stereotypical things.

 

And he wanted them with Ray.

 

One step at a time though. First he needed to get Ray through this heat.

 

o0o

 

Burnie held onto both of Joel’s hands, fat tears running down his stubbled cheeks. His eyes were bloodshot and his boyfriend’s weren’t much better. They were both scraped raw from the inside out and they couldn’t let go of each other. The papers were all signed, filled out, and officially submitted. There were no more delays. On one end of the hall stood their friends waiting to drive Joel home, and on the other stood Burnie’s freshly assigned doctor and two nurses.

 

Joel closed the small distance between them and very carefully pressed their foreheads. Burnie’s lips pressed tight like he was about to sob again but all that came was a fresh roll of tears.

 

“Everyone here seems nice,” Joel croaked, thumb rubbing over the back of the other’s hand.

 

“Yeah.” Burnie sounded just as rough, his hold almost painful.

 

“I...I think they’ll take good care of you.” Joel chewed nervously at his lip. “And I’ll come visit you the second I can. They said they...that they-”

  
“Isolated,” he spat out. “I’m slipping, J. I don’t feel anything good. What I did...I need to be isolated.”

 

“But it’ll be okay,” Joel promised, his stomach twisting in knots. His throat felt like it was going to swell up and choke off his air. He wanted to promise a hundred things but he couldn’t lie. Not now. There had been enough lying between them. “And even if it’s not, I’m going to be here when you get out. Right here ready to take you home. I swear.”

 

Burnie’s chin shook and he nodded. “Thank you.”

 

“I love you, dumbass,” Joel tried to joke, voice cracking. “Don’t thank me. Where else would I be?”

 

“With some sweet Omega who can give you kids,” Burnie admitted dejectedly, his grip still iron tight.

 

Joel rumbled and scrubbed their cheeks together. “You fucking idiot. When have I ever wanted kids?”

 

Burnie laughed but it cut off into a sharp whine. “I’m so fucking scared.”

 

Joel reluctantly let go of his boyfriend’s hands and pulled him into a firm hug. He wanted to tell him not to be, that there was nothing to scared of, but if he opened his mouth he knew he would just admit how terrified he was too. Leaving Burnie in a damn clinic went against every protective instinct he had. He dug his fingers in and didn’t want to let go.

 

But then Ray’s terrified face came back to him, and with it every complaint he’d ever gotten over Burnie’s behavior the past two years. It had steadily gotten worse and now the man in front of him was not the man he loved. This was for the best. It was true and was what he had to do. What they all had to do. Even when it hurt. _Especially when it hurt._

 

“Come back to me,” Joel begged into his ear, quiet and intimate as so many people had their eyes on them. Burnie squeezed him tight around the middle and nodded, fangs dug deep into his lower lip to keep himself from begging to leave - to go home.

 

“Mr. Burns?” the doctor called gently, gesturing with his clipboard. “I understand how you must feel but the sooner we get started…”

 

“The sooner it’s over,” Joel finished, still holding him. He nosed at Burnie’s cheek until the man raised his head. He kissed him with all the love he felt for him, heart aching like it was going to split apart in his chest. _I love you_. It passed between them without words, lips trembling together as they both tried not to think of what was to come.

 

“Mr. Burns, Mr. Heyman?”

 

“Go,” Burnie pleaded, tearing his arms away from the other and keeping his clenched shut. “Go before I can’t and they drag me back there.”

 

Joel reached for him. He wasn’t as ready as he’d thought he was. He needed another kiss, a hug, anything. “Please, just one more-”

 

“We _can’t_ ,” Burnie keened, fingers twitching with the new wave of nerves. “You told me. You warned me. Everyone warned me. I’ve lost, I’m...I don’t deserve one more anything. You have to go, and so do I.” He turned away from him, knees nearly buckling. “It’s time. I-I’m going to fight them, I can feel it. And I don’t want you to see that.”

 

Joel nodded though the Alpha wasn’t looking. “Okay, Michael. I’ll come see you when they let me.”

 

Burnie laughed, a frail sound. “You better. And I want flowers. None of that cheap shit either.”

 

 _There’s my Michael_. “Fuck you, I don’t get paid enough to bring you a bouquet of golden flowers that only grow on the side of one mountain in Tibet every other summer.”

 

Burnie’s laugh crackled and he tilted his head back, a real smile tugging his mouth. “Then how are you _ever_ going to prove you love me?”

 

Joel’s stomach tightened for a whole different reason and he then knew he’d be obsessively waiting by the phone for the next few weeks. “Oh, I’ll think of something, Michael.”

 

o0o

 

Ray groaned in pure bliss as his mate’s hands rubbed expertly over his shoulders and down his back. He was sitting between Ryan’s legs in a daze, the Alpha leaning against the wall. Ryan’s hands pressed firmly along Ray’s spine, the Omega purring softly under his Alpha’s careful ministrations.

 

“I don’t feel like I’m in control,” Ray griped as he flexed his fingers in front of him. He was tingly all over but felt a little more lucid than before.

 

“That’s why Omegas need an Alpha they can trust in their heat.” Ryan shook the rumble out of his voice. “Or any status. Trust is important.” He smoothed his hands up the lad’s back to squeeze and rub his shoulders.

 

“Fucking hormones,” Ray muttered, hands dropping into his lap. “Am I going to remember everything?” He asked softly.

 

Ryan dug his thumbs into the bottom of the Omega’s nape until he shuddered. “For the most part.”

 

Ray tried not to pout but he was getting frustrated. “I hate this. It’s like being drunk.”

 

“It’ll get worse before it gets better,” Ryan pointed out, dropping a kiss at his hairline. “But I won’t do anything we haven’t done before.”

 

“I trust you,” Ray swore, sober and sure. “I want to do this. I’ve been bitching about wanting to do more stuff, right? Didn’t think it’d be in heat though.” He chuckled and the nerves were back, mind frazzling up. “I can’t believe I’m finally going into _heat_. Just when I got used to the idea of being an Omega. Shit. It’s surreal.” Ray leaned back against Ryan as the Alpha’s hands wrapped around his waist.

 

“The important thing is to relax,” Ryan urged, nosing into his mate’s hair. He couldn’t stop breathing in the rich scent of his oncoming heat. “I thought it might set in faster but we seem to have a little break here. Do you feel like doing anything? Want to play some games, maybe eat something else?”

 

Ray frowned. “Really?”

 

“You’re not sequestered,” Ryan laughed, giving a playful pat to his hip. “You can do whatever you feel up to. We have the week just for us.” He pressed a warm kiss below his mate’s ear and got a tiny chitter. “I get a whole week to spoil you.”

 

Ray tilted his head back with a smile. “You’re not going to let me win just because I’m in heat, right?”

 

Ryan grinned and rubbed his cheek against him. “I think we both know I don’t have to go easy for you to completely annihilate me in every game ever.”

 

Ray hid his own little grin. “Well. True. Maybe today you’ll beat me.”

 

“I highly doubt it.”

 

o0o

 

Halo was a safe bet. It was mindless and easy to play, the controls ingrained into their muscle memories. They settled on the couch with protein bars and water, shooting away and teasing each other.

 

Ray was slowly chewing a mouthful of protein bar, more focussed on the game than the food in his mouth, when he suddenly got woozy, vision briefly tunneling. He spat the mouthful back into the wrapper with a grimace and threw his controller to the side. His stomach felt strange, heavy. “What’s this shit made out of? Lead?” Ray put the half-eaten bar down, looking at it in distaste.

 

Ryan sighed, standing to turn off the Xbox and the TV. “Looks like your body has decided it’s done eating. It just wants to mate.”

 

“That’s fucked up and archaic,” Ray complained, reaching out to him with a chirp. “Nest?”

 

“I know, babe,” Ryan chuckled, easily bending down and swooping him up into his arms. The Omega was all but weightless and Ryan leaned down to nuzzle against his warm cheek. “Nest.”

 

o0o

 

Ryan wasn’t sure how long they’d laid in bed, how long he’d rubbed his mate’s stomach and scrubbed his scent into the lad’s hair. He didn’t know if Ray fell asleep or not, but under the influence of the Omega’s thickening vanilla scent he drifted off himself. His dreams were muddied, a confused jumble of sounds and colors that had him sweating through his clothes. He couldn’t pull himself out of the stressing nightmare, but his mate did.

 

The first breath Ryan drew when he woke was packed with pheromones and all his blood rushed south. He forgot where he was for a moment, spread out on his back with _someone_ pressed against him. A hot little mouth was on his throat, licking and nibbling hungrily. He was already hard, they both were. He could feel his mate’s wet cocklet against his hip, grinding away to the tune of sweet moans.

 

When Ryan finally opened his eyes his every sense came alive. The pajama pants Ray had put on to play Halo in had been pushed down so the elastic was cutting into the middle of his thighs, leaving his dick free to rut against Ryan. The length was dark and shining with pre, smearing the side of Ryan’s boxer briefs with his mate’s need. The room was soaked in Omega heat pheromones and it was a shot of adrenaline that hit him right in the gut.

 

“Alpha,” Ray whined against his throat.

 

Ryan rolled, flipping Ray onto his back and settling over him, leaning in to catch his sweet mouth in a kiss. “I’m here, sweetheart. Just relax.”

 

o0o

 

Ryan had the Omega spread out and those shapely hips propped in his lap, tan legs spread wide to give him room. The Alpha grinned - he had two fingers buried in his mate, where Ray was starting to pour slick. The Omega felt like wet silk around Ryan’s fingers, glossy and hot and _perfect_. He crooked the digits and rubbed mercilessly over the Omega’s prostate, aiming to take the edge off quickly, rather than taking his time. Ryan’s dick strained against his underwear, the last barrier between them barely hiding his need. He wanted so badly to sink into Ray’s yearning hole, fill him up like they both wanted. It would be so easy.

 

Ray pawed desperately at the sheets above his head. His cheeks blazed hot from the heat and the sloppy sounds of fingerfucking that filled the room. Ryan’s fingers were thick and he knew how to use them. Even with the onset of heat opening him up, and the bath had that relaxed his every muscle, he was still tight. He wanted more but two was so much already. A stream of moans spilled past his lips and he was on _fire_ but tears still streamed down his temples. It was intense, amped up a thousand times by the need his body was spewing out. He was oversensitive, he was fizzling - and Ryan was a catalyst.

 

His mate had big fingers but all Ray could think of was his cock. “More!”

 

Ryan rumbled soothingly and teased a third finger along the wet rim. It didn’t give, not yet. It was too early. He pushed and his mate shuddered. “Soon, baby.”

 

“Don’t call me ‘baby’, just fuck me!” Ray demanded, hips rocking uselessly in the Alpha’s lap. Ryan briefly flashed his fangs before speeding up, holding onto a thigh with one hand while he pistoned his fingers into the Omega’s ass. The obscene squelch had Ray whining in embarrassment, but that would soon fade. “God, fuck, _Ryan_. I can take more fingers, at least.”

 

Ryan tisked. “Whiny boy. Sounds like someone needs to come.”

 

The pleasure finally came to a peak when Ryan dropped Ray’s leg and palmed his cock. It was just pressure but it was all Ray needed. Ryan buried his fingers in as deep as he could to give the Omega something to bare down on, to ride. Ray bucked but his mate kept a vice grip on his hip to keep him from writhing right off his lap. White striped his flexing stomach, smearing over the Alpha’s palm and leaving the deep scent of vanilla behind.

 

Ryan rumbled deep in his chest as his hands were soaked in slick and cum. Ray’s breathy, post-orgasm sighs were the sweetest music and he memorized the sight before him. His mate flushed from ears to thighs, wet lipped and dazed eyed. _Gorgeous boy._

 

Ray groaned in frustration and shifted restlessly as the ache didn’t go away. Not just the deep lust of his heat but the short term horniness. He was still hard. “Fuck, _fuck_.”

 

Ryan hushed him and cupped his cock, rubbing his thumb along the swollen flesh to help ease the hurt. “It’s okay. You won’t go soft for a while. I’ve got you.”

 

o0o

 

In the haze of heat, Ray wondered if he would survive getting fucked if Ryan was _this_ stunningly good with just his fingers. His mate filled and milked half a dozen orgasms out of him with just the expert crook and thrust of his fingers. Ray was simultaneously satisfied and _not_ because he could _see_ Ryan’s dick through his flimsy underwear. It was fat and fully hard, had been since the start. He could see almost every detail from how wet the fabric was, how it clung to the bell head and the major curve that had the Omega’s mouth watering. He knew instinctively his Alpha’s cock would calm him. A nice knot, a thick shaft - he knew it would both extinguish and rouse the flames within him.

 

“Need,” Ray grunted, dragging his nails down the Alpha’s arm.

 

Ryan made a coarse sound in the back of his throat before rolling the Omega onto his back. He pinned Ray down and flashed him a grin before descending on his throat. He bit down and Ray squirmed. It wasn’t as hard as either of them would’ve liked but it was right on one of many inflated scent glands. It shot a bolt of solace through the Omega and he settled, though just a little. The bite grounded him when he felt like he was drowning, and it wouldn’t be the first time.

 

Ray rubbed up against the Alpha’s covered cock, whining. “I could take it. _Please_.” He drew his legs up high around Ryan’s waist, wet hole dragging against the bulge. His eyes rolled back and he dug his nails into the other’s shoulders. “Can you feel it?”

 

“Feel your soaked little hole?” Ryan rasped against his ear. “Oh yeah.”

 

“I’m empty, Alpha,” Ray keened, rubbing harder and shivering when he felt the plump head against his rim. “I’m fucking ready. I could take anything.”

 

Ryan smiled and licked over the mark he left. His Omega was so eager, such a good boy. He knew Ray wasn’t in the best of control and was feeling truly overwhelmed by his instincts. A heat was a potent thing. As much as he wanted to give Ray everything, now wasn’t the time. Soon. This would have to do until they had time to explore and find their limits.

 

Ray yowled in frustration, heels digging into his mate’s thighs. “Give me a toy at least, you fucking monster!”

 

Ryan pressed a sweet kiss to Ray’s throat with a little rumble but only got scratched in return. The rumble churned into a real growl and he pinned the Omega down by the shoulders, setting his teeth hard against the fluttering pulse. He drug his fangs over the skin so hard it turned dark. “I’m not going to let anything artificial inside _my_ Omega. Someone else bought you those toys and it makes my fucking skin itch to think about anyone or any _thing_ else satisfying my mate during his heat.”

 

Ray’s breath caught. _There it was_. His Alpha. He whined and rubbed his cheek against him until he got him to raise up for a kiss that was open mouth and wanton. “Need this. Alpha. Please.”

 

Ryan brushed their noses. He knew what he was saying. He needed domination, to be held down and give control to someone else with this overwhelming swell of feelings. Ray was feeling torn apart, scattered by primal urges, and he needed to trust someone to gather him back together.

 

“Trust me.”

 

Ray nodded quickly, thighs squeezing around his waist. “Always.”

 

o0o

 

Ray didn’t know how late it was. The sun had long gone down and the room was drowned in comforting darkness. His eyes were sensitive and so was his ass. He’d whined to his mate about the hurt and, as with everything, the other was quick to help. Ray had a pillow under his cheek, arms crossed beneath it as he let himself relax. The heat was still buzzing through him but it was a low dip. There was no desperation at the moment and he drifted in a limbo between being awake and asleep.

 

Ryan was behind him. He could feel the Alpha’s warmth, smell his musk, and wide palms were cupping his ass. Fingers massaged the muscles in his cheeks and it relieved the soreness that lingered there. Every muscle felt tight and overworked, and they had just gotten started. It could last two or three more days. But those kind of rational thoughts were starting to disappear. Everything was boiling down to basic needs and sensations. Like the ones he had now.

 

Ray almost didn’t recognize the sounds he was making. They were so Omega, kittenish almost. It sounded like something out of porn or one of Michael and Gavin’s play sessions. High pitched and calling to an Alpha with every note, every quiver of his voice. He was being played like a perfectly tuned instrument and he was floating. A hot, wet feeling was against his hole. It was soothing. His rim was already feeling rubbed raw and his Alpha’s mouth was the best cure. Deep, strong licks and these little flicking motions that made him shiver.

 

“Alpha.” The whimper spilled easily from his lips. He rode his Alpha’s tongue with lazy little thrusts, a pillow tucked under his hips to prop them up. Ryan moaned against his hole, slick-drunk and hard. They both rutted against the bed, riding the idle pleasure in the late hour of the night. The urgent need to fuck had come and gone, and would come again. They wouldn’t sleep anytime soon but getting off didn’t feel like a _must_.

 

Ryan spread his cheeks further and licked in as far as he could go, lapping at the silky walls. Ray rubbed his dick against the pillow and there was a spike of pleasure. He wasn’t sure if he came but it felt wet now, the slide of flesh against cotton easier. That talented tongue disappeared long enough for a _good boy_ to be kissed against his cheek before it was back, dragging against his twitching rim to send little sparks up his spine.

 

o0o

 

By noon, Ryan’s stomach was empty and he was craving real food. Ray hit the stride of his heat and he didn’t want to be apart for even a few minutes. His mate was clingy and needy, constantly rubbing his cute ass against him and begging for relief. It was almost hard to watch his mate lose his senses but in another way it was freeing and humbling to know Ray trusted him so much to let him be here for this. Being pressed skin to skin for hours, breathing in each other’s scents, sweat and cum and slick staining their skin and filling the room with the smell of _them_.

 

Ryan didn’t know his own skills. He managed to give his wild Omega a blowjob _and_ text Gavin to bring over food at the same time.

 

Somehow, Ryan convinced Ray to let him go long enough to go use the bathroom. While he was freshening up there was a knock on the door he didn’t hear, but Ray did.

 

Gavin chirped happily as he saw his fellow Lad open the door. “X-Ray!” He flushed from nose to ears when he saw the Omega was naked, shining with sweat and slick and grinning at him. “Bloody Christ, Ray, close the door!” Gavin rushed the Lad inside and closed the door behind him, putting the big bag of food aside so he could lock it. “You shouldn’t be at the door! Where’s Ryan? You’re up to your tits in heat, love.”

 

Gavin squawked embarrassingly loud as the other Omega pushed him up against the wall beside the door. He had no idea Ray was so strong and it was a happy surprise. Ray was so prettily flushed, flesh like rosey petals with warmth pouring off him in waves. His eyes were blown out, glassy and full of fire. Ray bit his lip and shamelessly looked over the other, swallowing down a sound as he saw how hard he was. Shiny and ruddy, cute. “Poor love, you probably haven’t gone soft in a day. Is Ryan taking care of you?”

 

“He is,” Ray purred, eyeing him back. The Brit looked good - snug, well-cut brown leather jacket wrapped tight around his lithe waist and dark denim that looked poured on.

 

Gavin barely had time to make some silly mental analogy between the heated Omega and a sleek predator before he was attacked. Ray pressed tight up against him, hands burying themselves in the Brit’s back pockets and his nose in a long throat. Gavin chittered, hands flexing at his sides as his dick plumped up almost on instinct. The smell of Ray’s heat was deep and rich, almost too much like icing on his teeth. His ass was given a rough squeeze and he twitched, breath hitching as his senses got a jolt. Omegan fangs dragged over his throat and he so badly wanted to grab Ray and drag the Lad up, let him rut against his stomach instead of denim.

 

“Heat looks beautiful on you, love,” Gavin husked, splaying his hands on the wall to keep himself from touching. Ray licked at his pulse and he tilted his head back, getting a happy chitter and another nibble. He didn’t think he’d like the set of little fangs in his throat but he did, and from how hard he was getting he liked it a _lot_. “Gorgeous boy. You smell tasty.”

 

“Mm, Alpha says that.” Ray must have been pretty far into his heat, his voice was rough and he sounded like each word was a struggle. It was all a bit slurred. “Want to find out?”

 

Gavin chewed on his lip, groaning in frustration. “I can’t. It’s not right, Ray.” The other Omega’s hands slid out of his pockets and around to the front of his jeans, fingers digging into the buckle. “N-Not that I wouldn’t mind playing. You, me, my Michael. Alphas would love that, I bet. But right now-” He broke off in a drawn out whimper as the fly of his too-tight jeans was pried open by an eager hand. Fingers wrapped around his dick and gave a long rub that made his knees threaten to give out.

 

“Ryan hasn’t fucked me,” Ray confessed, breath washing over the Omega’s sensitive throat. Gavin tried not to thrust into those wonderfully soft fingers. He was getting a second hand high just from the smell of heat pheromones. The whole apartment smelled like a whore house and he wanted to roll in their sheets. “You feel good, Gav. You’d fuck me, wouldn’t you?”

 

Gavin’s jaw fell. “Ray!”

 

“Be good to me,” Ray slurred, grinding up against the Omega and squeezing his cock. “I’m soaked. It’s like porn. Alpha’s been sucking and eating me out for forever but I need a dick. You’ll help?”

 

Gavin stuttered out a string of nonsense, blushing all the way down to his chest. “I-I couldn’t, really.”

 

Ray fisted a hand in golden hair and dragged his lips against his ear, a fist still around swollen flesh. He was panting for it, for anything. To get _fucked_. “I need it. Fuck me.”

 

Gavin grit his teeth and dug his fingers into the wall. “Ryan!” He shouted.

 

“We don’t need an Alpha.” Ray whined, rubbing their cheeks together, scent marking the pretty Omega as his own. “Being with Geoff and Michael, bet you fuck just like an Alpha.” He purred, eyes half-mast as he looked up at Gavin.

 

“Ray-”

 

Ray whined and squeezed the other Omega’s cock. “Come on, Vav. Fuck me. Grab a toy and give me a knot.”

 

Gavin gave a weak imitation of a rumble, lip pulling back to show off his Omegan fangs. “You’ve got a whore tongue for a virgin, love.”

 

Ray went in for a kiss but Gavin finally took a hand off the wall and caught his jaw, lips almost touching. Ray strained against the hold, wanting a kiss and so much more.

 

“Boys.”

 

They both looked at the Alpha standing at the end of the hall. Gavin blew out a shaky breath, half in relief but with a heavy dollop of lust at the sight of the man. He’d always thought Ryan was fit but now the Alpha looked _fantastic,_ dressed in just a towel, hair damp and pupils wide from being so soaked in Omega pheromones. He had the same flush Ray did but with added droplets of water from a rinse, the muscles in his arms standing out enticingly as he crossed them over his chest.

 

“Alpha,” Ray chirped, bright eyed as he let go of the Omega and started toward his mate. Gavin breathed a sigh of relief and slumped against the wall to tuck himself away and button back up. He smiled at how pretty Ray looked pressing himself up against his Alpha’s side, purring and rubbing his face against his chest. Ryan nuzzled the Lad’s hair and made an answering rumble. They were such a handsome couple.

 

“No knotting this time around?” Gavin asked lightheartedly, rebuckling his belt. “Smart. First time during heat could muck up a bond.”

 

Ryan shot him an amused look, a hand spread possessively along the dip of his mate’s back. “I’m sorry about that. He hasn’t been himself for a few hours now.”

 

“Our mild little sunray is quite a flame in heat,” Gavin teased, tapping his knuckles against the paper bag on the side table. “I brought you all the best. Fried chicken, hamburgers, fruit cups, the works.”

 

Ryan tucked the nibbling Omega against his throat. “Thanks, Gavin.” His eyes fall down between the Brit’s legs. “It looks like you’d like to stay.”

 

Gavin waved his hands wildly, shaking his head. “No! No way, Rye, he’s all yours! I’m just, uh, helpless to a pretty Omega in need. You know me. Helping hand.” Ryan’s filthy grin made him blush darker, if that was possible. “Not like that!”

 

“You and Ray looked cozy,” Ryan remarked, fingers dragging over the Omega’s ass and giving it a good squeeze. “Cute boys.”

 

“I’m only human,” Gavin laughed nervously. The rolling rumble in the Alpha’s voice was getting to him. He was literally hot under the collar, sweat threatening to bead up from how hard his heart was pounding. “He reminds me of Michael on the everyday. It’s hard to resist.”

 

“You’ll just have to,” Ryan teased, shooting him a wink. “This time.”

 

“You both are bloody cock teases,” Gavin huffed, rubbing his hand over his cheek like it would wipe off the blush. But they all shared a smile. “Enjoy your heat. Eat up. I’m going to go shag Michael’s bloody brains out.”

 

With a quick wave, the Brit was gone.

 

Ryan laughed into Ray’s hair, giving the Omega a squeeze. “Come on. Alpha has to eat.” He pressed a kiss to his temple. “Maybe I’ll tempt you with a couple bites?”

 

“I’ll _bite_ something.”

 

o0o

 

Ray’s cries were shameless, yowling like a cat as he bounced his hips between his mate’s mouth and fingers. His fingers dug into Ryan’s shoulders as the Alpha more than gladly sucked down the Omega’s sweet cock, letting it fuck between his lips as he kept his fingers buried deep in his hole. Ray was pouring slick now, Ryan’s hands, and the sheets beneath them, were saturated in it. His cheeks, his chin, his chest, even his thighs were all covered with the translucent slick. He was stained with his mate’s need and he basked in it. It fueled him and he needed it. Ray’s insatiable lust was combating with his own fierce need to please his mate, to take care of him in every way he needed. Ryan hadn’t expected to get _this_ consumed. If his control wasn’t as fine tuned as it was, he might have gotten lost himself.

 

Their biologies were twining, grinding out a spark that was creating a fire. They were learning first hand why they called it a _heat_.

 

Ray’s wail stuttered out into a breathy mew, fingers dragging hard over his mate’s shoulders. There were already a dozen rake marks on Ryan’s abused skin, but he wore them proudly, like tiger stripes. The smooth, wet feeling of Ryan swallowing around him was breathtaking and his hips stuttered weakly as the Alpha licked up the short length, drawing out the last dribbles of cum to swallow them down.

 

Ray was still half hard. He whined in the back of his throat, choking on the word _Alpha_.

 

“Shh, sweetheart,” Ryan murmured against the sensitive head of his cock. He gave it a kiss before rearing up and moving his mate into place. He tucked a pillow under Ray’s head and got him comfortable, brushing their cheeks together to settle down Ray’s quiet fussing. Ryan hooked the Omega’s legs over his shoulders and laid low as he could, slipping the length back between his lips. It was so small and he’d never get over how good Ray tasted, how strangely sweet with vanilla pouring off him so heavily.

 

Ray started to purr and melted into the sheets. All he’d needed was a little contact.

 

Ryan warmed his mate’s cock and felt pure relief when the other finally slipped into a doze.

 

o0o

 

The cramps caught up to Ray in a bad way. There hadn’t been a lot pain except for the first few hours and now his body was rebelling. The pain was strangely high in his stomach, melting downwards to pool low in his groin. They were brief seizes like a fist tightening, and on the height of the cramp they were razor sharp. The release from the waves held a warmth that almost felt good if it hadn’t been such agony. They were mild at first but soon it was all Ray could think about besides getting fucked.

 

By the time they got to their worst, Ray was nonverbal and in the peak of his heat. All he could do was cry and paw at his Alpha, mumbling half-broken words between desperate chitters.

 

“I know, Ray.” Ryan murmured as he carried Ray back from the bathroom. He’d gotten him to take some pain meds and drink a full bottle of water, wiped him down, but his boy was still hurting. Ryan laid him out on the sheets he’d managed to change, and gave him a gentle kiss. “It hurts so bad, doesn’t it? I’ll take the pain away. Just keep breathing for me. Alpha’s here.”

 

Ryan got his mate as comfortable as he was going to get and kneeled between his legs. He splayed a hand over Ray’s stomach and felt around, sex-addled mind struggling to remember the right pressure points. He found the right places and massaged them gently, fingertips kneading into the muscles and working them loose. Ray whined at first and squirmed but he trailed off into a relieved moan as his muscles relaxed.

 

“There we go,” Ryan crooned. His other hand slid down between his mate’s legs, two fingertips resting against the patch of flesh beneath his balls. Ray’s body arched into a near-perfect bow at the pressure, mouth dropping open and eyes clenching shut like the most picture perfect Omega in distress. It made Ryan’s heart skip and his dick throb. He pressed harder on his mate’s stomach and kept rubbing smooth, tight circles to combine the pressure points with external prostate stimulation. It seemed to be doing the trick. Pleasure combined with practical technique to ease the cramps.

 

Ray purred in satisfaction. His breathing evened out and he visibly relaxed. Ryan rumbled back, pleased to have helped. It was a primal sort of trust, another call to their instincts. An Omega in need, an Alpha mate to help. It gave them both pleasant tingles and further forged their growing bond.

 

Ryan slowed his petting, palm grazing his mate’s happy trail. The cute belly twitched and shivered beneath his hand. Ray was smiling up at him but his eyes were blank, dark with heat. His sweet mate was long gone but Ryan wouldn’t let him float for long. This was the peak and it was only lucidity from here on out.

 

“We’re halfway through, sweetheart.”

 

o0o

 

Ryan rested against the headboard and idly snacked on a bag of pretzels. Ray hadn’t given him a rest in hours and he needed some way to keep up his strength. It was sometime around two AM but he didn’t feel tired, too busy worrying to sleep. Ray had slipped into sleep, but it was restless. The poor thing was jerking, fingers digging into the bed and lids twitching. It could’ve been a nightmare or just the demands of heat. Either way it was breaking Ryan’s heart. He was torn. Ray needed his rest, but he could’ve been in the grips of some hormone-induced horror. They were both exhausted and every minute of sleep helped...

 

The choice was taken from him. Ray woke with a startlingly high pitched cry that pulled at his heart strings.

 

“Ray? Hey, I’m right here,” Ryan promised, cupping his shoulders and giving them a squeeze. “Everything’s okay. You’re safe, in our nest.” But Ray didn’t seem seem to hear a word of it. The Omega crawled into his lap and buried his face in Ryan’s throat. There were no tears but more than a lion’s share of distress. Ryan hugged Ray close and rubbed his back, dropping kisses wherever he could.

 

Then he felt hands clawing at his boxers. Ryan opened his mouth to protest but it died on his tongue. He was getting tired of denying his mate what he wanted. “Okay, one second. Move your cute ass.”

 

Ray clung to him, grunting as he was moved around so the underwear could be shoved away. Ryan struggled to get them off his legs with a lapful of Omega but he managed and kicked them away. “You persistant little fuck. There.”

 

“Alpha,” Ray rasped against his jaw. Ryan cupped his ass and dragged him in. They both moaned as their dicks pressed together. It was a new kind of relief, a new pleasure after abstaining for so long. Ray wrapped his arms around his neck and grinded against him. It was sloppy and half hearted, frustrated noises escaping him as he tried to find relief. “Help.”

 

Ryan threaded fingers through sweat matted hair and pulled him into a kiss. “I’m sorry. I’ll give you my knot soon, Ray. You’ll get everything you want.”

 

The Omega’s dry sob broke his heart all over again. “ _Help_.”

 

Ryan gave in and let his Alpha side take over. If he couldn’t help his mate maybe the actions he thought were so offensive would. He tipped Ray over and threw him down on the bed, a growl building in his chest as he slipped between thighs shining with slick. He covered the Omega completely as he’d done before but this time he didn’t hold back. He buried his fangs in his mate’s throat and got a sudden, submissive chitter. They rubbed against each other, cocks smearing shiny trails over flushed skin.

 

Ryan sucked in a noisy breath around a mouthful of his mate’s throat and his knot throbbed at the rich almost pastry-like smell of the room now. Baked, hot vanilla and Alpha musk - the burst of salt.

 

Ray’s tears were of pure relief. He went quiet and clung to Ryan, wrapping around him as much as he could. He stared off at nothing, dark lashes falling low as he sunk into a submissive headspace. “Alpha, Alpha…” Ryan caged Ray in with his body and he felt so wonderfully small, taken care of. The full body contact made their senses sing. Fangs sank deeper into the Omega’s throat until the first tang of copper hit Ryan’s tongue.

 

Ryan pried his teeth out of that delicious, soft flesh and licked over the little wound. Two distinct pinpricks of crimson were there now. He nosed at the Omega’s jaw before scrubbing their cheeks together, scruff scratching. “Omega.”

 

Ray gave him a weak squeeze. “Alpha.”

 

o0o

 

Ryan looked his mate over with a frown. Ray had been extra fussy for about an hour and now he knew why. He parted the Omega’s cheek and found his hole puffy and swollen, thoroughly raw from all the fingerfucking he’d given him. Ryan tried to think of what to do but he was drawing a blank. The heat had taken a toll on them both and he was having trouble thinking straight.

 

So he did the only thing that made sense.

 

“Geoff?” Ryan tried not to whine but it was hard when he was noticing all the marks and bruises on his mate. Scratch and bite marks, irritated patches on his thighs and between his cheeks. He’d tried to get Ray to shower but the Omega had fought him every step of the way and he’d only managed to use wet wipes to get the worst of the mess. His darling was suffering for it now. The Pack Alpha’s voice in his ear was grounding. “Geoff, he’s pretty irritated all over. I got carried away and forgot to keep the slick off so now he’s rubbed raw. And he looks swollen, down there.”

 

“ _That’s not a surprise, I’m sure you’re both lost_ ,” Geoff chuckled warmly over the line. “ _You’re doing great, kid. Just have him soak in the tub with that In-Heat soap you got a while ago and everything will look less angry. A long soak, okay?_ ”

 

Ryan breathed a sigh of relief. “Yes, Alpha.”

 

“ _Good boy. Now go take care of your Lad._ ”

 

He hung up feeling ten times lighter and smile down at his whining boy. “Let’s get you in the bath.”

 

Ray’s nose scrunched up but he couldn’t complain too much. His hair was greasy from sweat and traces of cum, his body even more filthy. He sat up and his thighs pried apart with an audible _shlick_ and he cringed. “Geoff?”

 

“Yes. He reminded me how to take care of you.” He patted Ray’s cheek before scooting off the bed. “I’ll be right back.”

 

Ryan ran a hot bath and poured a generous amount of the wash clearly labeled ‘In Heat’. It frothed and turned the water a pretty lavender colour. He ran his fingers through it, testing the temperature, and found it more than comfortable. Feeling proud, Ryan went back to the bedroom and swept his mate up into his arms with a few little face kisses.

 

Ray didn’t try to fight him this time. The Omega was nothing but pure sweetness, resting his cheek against his shoulder and chittering. It was adorable and gave his heart such happy flutters. It was like a fairytale. _If the princes were coated in cum and sweat. Less rescuing from dragon and more fingerfucking, I guess._

 

If Ray had been lucid, he would’ve made a comment about how Ryan got off on carrying him but words were still difficult for him. Instead he hummed and shivered as he was once again lowered into a silky bath. The water felt amazing, but a few places stung as they were submerged. The worst of the bites and scratches took a few moments to adjust, the vitamins and herbs in the soap worked to numb the hurt quickly. Ryan used his hands instead of a cloth to rub the water into the worst of the rashes and marks, massaging the abused flesh and muscle.

 

It was relaxing at first. Ryan murmured about how proud he was of his beautiful mate and worked him from the bottom of his feet up to the tips of his hair. He lathered Ray up well all over and it started to rouse the Omega. Ray began to squirm in the water, legs rubbing together and teeth raking over his lip. It was cute until it turned into whines.

 

“Not right now, sweetheart.” Ryan helped the Omega rinse the suds from his hair and then wiped the water out of his eyes. “Your body needs a little break right now. Just fifteen more minutes.” That was how long the bottle had directed. Ray pouted at him. “I know, I know. It feels like fifteen years. Work with me.”

 

Ray mouthed _Alpha_ and spread his legs, hand sliding down between his thighs to fondle his stiff cocklet.

 

Ryan grit his teeth and kept an iron clasp on his control. “Oh you pretty, horny little thing.”

 

Ryan took a firm hold of his mate’s knees and easily pushed them back. Ray chirped and laid his head on the neck pillow that was still suctioned on the porcelain. He slid down as his legs were held up almost to his chest, parted to expose all his sensitive parts.

 

“Relax,” Ryan demanded with an Alpha edge that had the Omega tilted his head to the side to show his throat. “That’s it. Relax.” The water was right up against Ray’s hole and he knew the wash was designed for this, to be quickly absorbed to make everything loose. The Omega’s fingers fanned over his own belly under the water before creeping down to rub over his dick again. Ryan watched with narrowed eyes as Ray smoothed a hand over his balls and then further back to his open hole.

 

Ray was looking to him like he was awaiting punishment. But this was good, this would massage the swollen rim while he held the Omega’s legs apart to make sure everything was getting the attention he deserved. Ray was perfectly pinned by Ryan’s grip and his legs wouldn’t slip. Being spread open like this was pumping all those lovely endorphins into his mate and that’s what the Alpha wanted.

 

“That’s my good boy.” Ryan rubbed firm circles along the boy’s knees with his thumbs. Ray’s squirming started to subside and his eyes sliding closed. “So good for me, just for me. You’re so precious to me, Omega. I want you so much.”

 

Ryan snapped his mouth shut before he said improperly timed things.

 

When the fifteen minutes were up, Ray was asleep and had to be hand dried and carried once more to the nest. Ryan didn’t mind at all. More time to nuzzle and kiss his purring mate.

 

o0o

 

Ryan was so sure Ray was asleep. The bath that had loosened his muscles and had acted as the perfect balm for his small wounds. The wash had helped knock him right out and bought the Alpha some time. Ryan crept out of the bedroom to get a breath of fresh air and some fruit. He used the bathroom, freshened up with some wet wipes, and took the box with him back to the bedroom. He planned to scrub down his pretty little mate before rubbing him down.

 

“Please, please, please?”

 

Ryan frowned and pushed open the door. Ray was wide awake and had Ryan’s cellphone to his ear, whining into it. “Can’t I have Gav? Michael? Both? I’ll do all the Achievement Guides for the new Halo, I swear.”

 

“It’s good to hear you talking again,” Ryan commented, amused. Ray glanced at him nervously and held the phone tighter. His mate must have really been mucked up from the heat if he’d forgotten he’d already made that agreement. “And you already promised him you’d do that, Omega.”

 

Ray stuttered over another plea and Ryan managed to snatch the phone out of his fingers. “Geoff?”

 

“ _Your boy was trying to bribe me into getting one of my boys to come join you_ ,” Geoff snickered over the line. “ _Poor babe. He’s still in the thick of it, huh?_ ”

 

Ryan’s response was drowned out by the Omega’s insistent, obnoxious chitters as he crawled up the Alpha’s body. “Give it back! I nearly had him!”

 

Ryan got an earful of Geoff’s cackle at that. “ _Don’t worry about it, Rye. I get it. Gav told me what went down. I think it’s fucking cute. And admirable, you big fucking gentleman. But, you know, if you’re cool with it, I could still send one of the Lads over. You can take a nap and he’ll get some service, if you know what I mean._ ”

 

Ryan laughed, _really_ laughed. It was the first time he’d laughed from his belly in twenty four hours and it felt good. Even dazed, Ray responded to the joyful sound and nuzzled at his chest.

 

“We can have Lad Pile some other time, old man,” Ryan teased, petting through his mate’s hair. “Ray’s all mine right now.”

 

“ _You go get him, tiger._ ”

 

Ryan hung up and tossed the phone on the side table. He gave a playful snarl and pushed Ray down on the bed, waggling his eyebrows to make the boy laugh as he crawled on him. He settled over Ray and laid a hand on his throat with a firm squeeze. “What’s wrong, Omega? Am I not enough for you?”

 

Ray huffed and made a show of pouting. “No, Alpha. You’re plenty.” He squeezed the man’s wrist and pushed into his palm. “But you won’t _fuck me_ like I want.”

 

Ryan narrowed his eyes, lip drawing back to show off his fangs. “Ungrateful brat.”

 

Ray hooked a leg over his hip and dragged his cock against a firm belly. He could feel his mate’s cock against his inner thigh and something clicked in his brain. _Jealousy_. This was how he could get a knot, to get fucked proper. He tried to pitch his voice low for a lusty croon but it came out wild, needy. “We should call him back. I’d suck you off, or him. Whatever you want, Alpha.”

 

“Whatever I want?” Ryan echoed, playing along. His cock dripped against his mate’s skin at the images that were conjured. It was tempting, especially since he’d been hard for two days without much more than a quick jerk.

 

Ray craned his neck and breathed against his ear. “Spread myself just for you, to let him stay. We’d be good boys for you.”

 

 _That_ did it. The thought of Ray twined with Gavin’s long limbs, lips locked as their hands wandered over miles of blushing Omega skin. Pretty little cocks rutting together as they moaned candy sweet. _Fucking shit._

 

Ryan let out a purely Alpha noise that startled them both. He grabbed Ray by the back of the knees and folded him in half, straining his muscles but spreading him wide. He was shining and wet from the tip of his cock to the bottom of his tailbone.

 

Ray was so different than most of the Omegas he’d been with or seen. His cock wasn’t a delicate Omega pink but dark and ruddy, uncut. His balls were the same dark red. The Alpha-esque shade was strangely arousing to see on Ryan’s tiny little mate. Being careful not to slip into the slick, heat-dilated hole, Ryan firmly rubbed his cock across the rim and over the Omega’s tight sack.

 

Ray hissed at the contact at first, almost too much, but the pleasure outweighed the oversensitivity. It wasn’t getting fucked but Ryan felt stunningly good against him, thick and blood hot. The plump head nearly popped inside on each methodical thrust and each time he whimpered. It wasn’t exactly what he wanted but it was still so fucking _good_. It silenced the screaming need to be bred and he was grateful.

 

And Ryan looked hot as sin above him. Mussed hair, teeth set in his lip, brow furrowed in concentration as he rubbed his cock all along his ass…

 

Ray spilled all over his stomach just from the rutting, his mate’s name on his lips.

 

o0o

 

The pleading, the begging, the whines - Ryan’s mind was overworked, overheated. He struggled and tried to maintain but Ray was just so damn _loud_ and insistent. The constant pawing and shameless begging - it hurt him, and in a way it frustrated him as well. Ray’s heated demands to be fucked were going straight to his dick.

 

“Alpha!” Ray complained, fussing in the dirty sheets and looking so perfectly distraught. It was grinding on his mate’s nerves and making his knot ache. The Omega was lost in another swell of heat, almost angry from being denied by his mate. He pushed at the bedding and made all sorts of grumpy noises. It would have been cute if Ryan didn’t feel like he was going to explode.

 

“You want it?” Ryan finally snapped, grabbing the Lad by the shoulder and rolling him onto his back. Ray stared up at him with wide, curious eyes. “You want to be claimed? Shown your place?”

 

Ray bit his lip and nodded. “ _Please_.”

 

Ryan easily straddled the Omega’s chest and loomed over him, knees tucked under the boy’s arms. He was in the perfect place to watch his mate’s eager face as he gripped his own cock and pumped. Ray lit up in excitement and grabbed Ryan’s ass, giving a cheeky grin as he squeezed in encouragement. Full thoughts weren’t exactly coming easy yet but he was still frisky. “Alpha, _please_?”

 

Ryan grinned back and made a show of jerking off, fist tight and slow on the swollen length. He loved the feeling of his mate’s hands on him, egging him on. He towered over the Omega, dominant and straight out of amateur money shot porn. But that’s what he intended to do, was positioned to do. Looking down he could admire the dark curl of Ray’s hair, the shapely curve of his bite-swollen lips, and the dark marks all over his throat. One particular mark was bruising, twin fang wounds within it. Ryan was already on the edge and his eyes stuck to that particular claim.

 

“You look good down there,” Ryan gruffed, striping his cock faster as he thought of how well he could’ve been fucking his mate if only they’d sped things up before his heat.

 

“You look pretty good up there,” Ray countered before licking his lips. “Go on. Breed my throat. Fill me up, Alpha.” He opened his mouth in a way that should have looked silly but only came off desperate, sensual. Ray’s lashes fell low over a ravenous gaze.

 

It was the sleek shine of his tongue that set Ryan off. It was so welcoming, so thirsty for his seed - it flicked that old, primal switch and pushed him over the edge he’d been teetering on.

 

Ryan groaned and hunched over his mate, teeth grit but eyes open as he tugged his cock and aimed. He hated this kind of porn but there was something breathtaking about streaking cum over Ray’s mouth and chin. He pushed his cock down and coated Ray’s marked throat. The sight of his seed alongside his bite shot him into a second orgasm. He cried out and braced a hand on the bed, shoulders hunching as he spilled more over his happily whimpering mate. White laced over Ray’s collarbone, his pulse, even hitting his jaw.

 

It was erotic, and _oh_ so satisfying.

 

Ryan panted and his arm shook as he held himself up, bangs falling into his eyes as sweat dripped down to the tip of his nose. His knot hadn’t popped but it was unnecessary. His body was singing, lashes fluttering wildly as little pulses of pleasure shot through his thighs and up into his his belly. For a moment he was dizzy but he didn’t mind. His lips curled in a lazy, predatory smile as he watched his mate undulate between his legs.

 

“My pretty boy,” he rumbled.

 

Ray wiped seed off his jaw and kept their eyes locked as he licked it off his palm, tongue dragging heavy over the skin. He hummed and lapped up his fingers, eating it all up. “Good Alpha.”

 

Ryan got off his mate and grabbed him around the waist to drag him up into his lap. Ray went happily and even started to purr as the Alpha’s hands rubbed at his throat, massaging the cum into his skin. It was disgustingly possessive and they both got off on it. Ray closed his eyes and tilted his head back as Ryan rubbed down to his chest and then all the way back up to his cheeks. Ray was surprised by the kiss he was caught in but he only purred louder, wanting every drop of intimacy he could wring out of his mate.

 

“Yours,” Ray murmured against his lips.

 

“ _Mine_.”

 

Ray chittered at the overprotective tone and how it hit him in the gut. He wrapped his arms around his mate and parted his lips, letting Ryan kiss him as deep as he wanted. All that talk of Gavin earlier had rubbed his Alpha’s nerves raw and he strived to please him. He expected the jizz rubbed into his skin would feel gross or tacky but he only felt loved, possessed.

 

Ryan bit his lip and he hissed. “Bastard.”

 

“You love it.”

 

“Gonna’ lick me clean?” Ray taunted, brushing their noses.

 

“Maybe.” Ryan just barely brushed their lips. “Get on your stomach and I’ll rub you down before I decide just _where_ to lick.”

 

o0o

 

It was sunrise on the third day. Ryan could see the fresh light peeking in through the turned blinds. He was propped up on pillows, head lolling back and eyes occasionally rolling in sheer pleasure as his mate worshipped his cock. Ray was laid out on his belly, head in Ryan’s lap as he attempted to suck him off. There was no technique, no real energy, just slightly lethargic need. It was just for the mouthfeel, and to sate the heat in a different way. Ray mostly suckled at the tip, calm as anything.

 

Time had gone wonky for them but Ryan was sure he had almost a half hour of getting so lovingly served. There was no build, no slowly tightening pressure - his orgasm crashed into him like a sudden wave. He choked on a moan and carefully cupped the back of his mate’s neck, mouth dropping open and brow pinching as he rode that wave.

 

“Ray, sweetheart…” he rasped, toes and fingers flexing as he spilled across Ray’s tongue. The Omega made pleased noises and swallowed it all down, loving every drop. “Good, so good. Ah hell.”

 

The drawl made Ray purr, words escaping him.

 

Ryan drifted off after that. Two satisfying releases after two full days wore him down. He dozed for almost an hour and he woke up to his mate’s purrs. Ryan rubbed his eyes and sat up, stifling a yawn as he tried to figure out what was happening.

 

Ray was sprawled in the nest like a lazy cat. The Omega was chittering happily and stretching out his sore body, rubbing himself against the nest. Though he was smiling he was clearly half asleep. “Alpha.”

 

“My Omega,” Ryan cooed, reaching out and petting through damp locks. Ray looked so gorgeous all marked up and flushed, smelling like a claimed Omega. He smelled like _him_ , like them both. Ryan knew this blissed out state was from ingesting so much of his seed in so short of time. It was a pure Alpha hormones being absorbed right into his Omega system. “I’m going to get some water and I want you to drink it for me, okay?”

 

Ray’s fingers grazed his leg. “I’d rather drink something else if you can get it up again, stud.”

 

Somehow, even after the whole heat, Ryan still managed to be embarrassed enough to blush.

 

o0o

 

Ray wasn’t sure of much anymore. The time, the day, his middle name. Everything was fuzzy, blurred around the edges. He felt lighter than air but exhausted. He could feel pinpoints of contact but the whole picture was uncertain. A mouth at his nape, his Alpha spooned up behind him, the hum of the A/C, and the slick hand lazily pumping his cock. He felt the need to come but not urgently.

 

His Alpha was taking care of him, whispering to him.

 

Ray let himself float and came in his sleep much to his mate’s amusement.

 

 


	84. Ray's Heat - III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything is really gay. And there's rimming.

**I'm gay. This is gay. everyone is gay. Unbetaed. Please leave a review I'm starving but don't be harsh I tried my best!**

 

* * *

 

 

Ryan showered before he left the house. The smell of his mate’s heat scent was laced into his own at this point but he washed off the bulk of it so he could run down the street for some premade food. They’d sapped their supplies. He needed fresh fruit and grilled chicken he could slice up and hand feed to his boy. They had about another twenty four hours left and there was still another wave or two left to ride. Ray was fast asleep when he left but when he returned with a bag of groceries he heard a noise that hit him in the gut. - an Omegan whine. It was different than usual, a sound Omegas made out of instinct. It was high pitched noise and it tugged at his very core. 

 

“Ryan?” Ray called, sounding helpless. It pushed all of Ryan’s buttons and he threw the bag in the fridge before running to the bedroom. He was relieved to find his Omega sitting naked on the bed making grabby hands at him, face flushed and eyes glazed over completely. He was still half asleep but needy from the hormone rush. Even the most independent of Omegas went through vulnerable periods during their heats, especially ones that recognized a mate. “Alpha?”

 

“I’m right here,” Ryan promised quickly, shedding off his clothes to get rid of the scent of strangers. He went to the bed and kneeled over his Omega, straddling him. He cradled Ray’s jaw between his palms and rumbled soothingly, getting a sweet purr in answer. He brushed their noses before he kissed him.

 

“Feel empty without you,” Ray murmured against his lips, brow pinched up as he tried to get out the words. “Feels like...you touch places I didn’t even realize were there. I’ve gotten off before but when you do it...it’s so different. But that’s stupid and sappy, isn’t it? And kind of creepy?”

 

Ryan kissed him again, thumbs rubbing along his mate’s cheeks. It seemed Ray really was riding a potent hormone wave. “No, it’s flattering. What?” He met Ray’s stare full on and smiled. “You don’t think I feel the same way?”

 

Ray smiled and it made something warm bloom in the Alpha’s chest. “Yeah?”

 

“Yeah,” Ryan assured him. He dipped down and kissed along his mate’s neck, moving his hand so he could get at the thumping pulse to lick at it. It calmed beneath soft strokes, leaving his scent in the delicate flesh even more so than it already was. Ray smelled so much like him, like  _ them _ . Their scents had entwined so much during his heat that he wasn’t sure if they’d ever truly stop smelling like one another.

 

“I’m sore,” Ray admitted, pressing closer. “Feels better when you’re inside me. It’d feel even better if you fucked me.”

 

Ryan grinned against his neck and gave him a playful nibble. Ray chittered and hugged him tighter. “I know. But only after your heat. It’s not fair to have our first time be with all haziness. You know that, right?”

 

Ray grunted and tugged at him, dragging them both down onto the bed. Ryan’s weight settled over the Omega and the pressure hit all the right spots. He wiggled contently beneath the Alpha and purred, slick dripping down onto the sheets as his body thrummed. Ryan kept nuzzling and licking at his throat and he tilted his head back, welcoming it.

 

“You need me to take care of you again, sweetheart?”

 

“In a minute.” Ray was already slipping into another daze but he felt too nice to move. “This is nice for now.”

 

o0o

 

Ryan carried Ray to the kitchen and sat at the kitchen bar with the Omega in his lap. He fed him slices of grilled chicken and cherry tomatoes from his fingers, rumbling encouragingly. Ray held his wrist and licked the light balsamic from his fingertips. 

 

“It’s good,” Ray rasped, eyeing the bottle of orange juice on the counter next to the little feast. 

 

Ryan cracked open the bottle and offered it. “Go slow.”

 

Ray’s fingers fumbled on the bottle and the Alpha took a hold of it again, keeping it steady as he pressed it to his boy’s lips. “Sorry.”

 

“You’ll get your strength back,” Ryan promised, tilting the bottle little by little to let his boy drink. “There we go.”

 

Ray moaned in relief as the cool tang of the juice slid down his parched throat. It was good to taste something other than water and heat shakes. He knew he’d consumed other things but the heat had scrambled his brain. Ryan told him the memories would come back as he became lucid but right now everything was still very fuzzy. 

 

Ryan put the bottle back on the counter and thumbed open a plastic container, taking up a piece of watermelon and holding it up to his mate. Ray smile and took the whole piece in his mouth, chewing through the sweetness with a happy hum. Ryan nosed at his cheek, rumbling deep in his chest. With the heat dying down, it felt so wonderfully domestic to have his mate naked in his lap and feeding him. 

 

“Still hungry?”

 

Ray nodded before dropping his head on the Alpha’s and opening his mouth. 

 

“Should I do train or airplane noises?”

 

“Feed me, bitch.”

 

Ryan laughed and got another piece of melon. “Spoiled brat. I’ve made a monster.”

 

“Mmhm. Your fault.”

 

o0o

 

Ryan rubbed Ray’s sore body down for nearly an hour, working out every knot in his mate’s body from his neck down to his feet. Ray moaned and writhed under him in a different form of pleasure, dick half-hard in the sheets and goosebumps prickling his skin all over. The Omega drifted into a minor subspace at the feeling of his Alpha’s broad, lotioned palms working deep into his shoulders and thighs.

 

“There we go, baby, just relax,” Ryan hushed into Ray’s hair, hands sweeping up and down the boy’s spine as he hunched over him. He felt his Omega yield completely and melt into the fresh sheets, moaning faintly. “I’ve got you.”

 

Ryan massaged the dip of his mate’s back and leaned over to press his ear between his shoulder blades, eyes closed as he listened to Ray fall asleep. He could hear the calm rhythm of his mate’s heart and feel his breaths even out until they were sleep-smooth. He oh-so-carefully extracted himself from the bed and tip-toed out of the room, closing the door over so he didn’t make too much noise. He’d put the hamper outside the room earlier just for this and he hauled it to the laundry room. He dumped everything in the washer including the boxers he was wearing.

 

Feeling the chill of the AC on his sensitive cock, Ryan rummaged around the shelves he had above the dryer. He tugged down a rolled up pair of jeans and snapped them out. They were old and threadbare, acid washed from years of heavy use. Faded, threaded, and incredibly soft. He only wore them on laundry day. They felt good sliding up his legs and the brush of denim on his cock wasn’t exactly unpleasant. 

 

He took a few minutes to wash his face and brush his teeth, run a comb through the wild nest of his hair. Looking at himself in the mirror made him smile shyly. He looked like he did in his first rut. The man in the mirror seemed younger - flushed, shirtless,  _ happy _ . Tired, yes, but so good. Ray truly brought out the best in him. Ray was in their nest riding the low tide of his heat and practically glowing, and all he wanted to do was join him. But he wanted to make sure they had a hearty meal ready for when the last of the fever broke. 

 

Ryan spent some time slaving over a stew, chopping and dicing into a big pot his grandmother had sent him. It was a labor of love and he enjoyed it, hoping the rich broth and thick chunks of meat would be comforting to his aching, exhausted lover. He wanted Ray to have a full belly for the next couple days. His body had gone through so much stress that he’d be out of commission for another couple days. He’d need lots of rest and water, downtime, and Ryan had already talked Michael into covering for them at work while they spent the time bonding at home. 

 

Ryan put the lid on the pot and turned it down to a simmer, licking a stray drop of broth off the side of his finger. He heard fussy noises from the bedroom and headed back immediately, not wanting to give Ray a time to drop. He bumped the door open with his forearm, eyes darting around the room for danger. But Ray was safe. The room was empty and his mate was sitting up, watching him.

 

“Are you alright?”

 

Ray nodded, rubbing at his arm and clearly embarrassed. “Yeah. I just wanted you.”

 

Ryan made a soft noise and got on the bed beside him, wrapping an arm around him. “Ray, it’s nothing to be ashamed about, okay? Your hormones are all over the place. There’s nothing wrong with wanting me close.” He nosed at his cheek and got a smile out of it. “I want you right beside me too. For a second I thought you were being hurt.”

 

Ray frowned a little. “Didn’t you lock all the doors and windows?”

 

“Exactly,” Ryan breathed against his ear. “All those heat hormones. We’re just coming out of a primal mindset.”

 

Ray squirmed. “You’re too eloquent.”

 

“Big words,” Ryan teased playfully.

 

Ray’s fingers trailed shyly over the thin denim stretched over the Alpha’s thighs. “I really like these. Like, way more than I should.”

 

Ryan hummed and scrubbed his knuckles down the Omega’s back, working them into the muscle on either side of his spine. Ray arched into it and leaned forward, showing his nape and rubbing his cheek against his mate’s chest. It felt so natural, so fluid. Ryan’s fingers rubbed firm circles at the very dip of his back before sliding down further, rubbing between his cheeks. The Omega mewled and scrubbed his cheek across firm muscle, scenting and pushing into the touch.

 

“You’re wet, sweetheart,” Ryan crooned, stroking two fingers over the wet rim. “Are you still feeling your heat? Does it hurt?”

 

“No,” Ray admitted softly. He curled up further into Ryan’s lap and mouthed at his throat, grinding his hard cock against the Alpha’s hip. Ryan sucked in a noisy breath and the Omega purred, rubbing harder. “This is all for you.”

 

“Oh is it?” Ryan breathed into his hair, making the Omega shiver. Ryan caught Ray’s chin in the curl of his fingers and tilted his head up for a kiss. Ray curled his arms around his neck and parted his lips, crushing them together to feel his Alpha’s skin on his own. Ray tingled all over as Ryan licked into his mouth, nipples perking up and rubbing pleasantly against a warm chest. They didn’t fit as perfectly as Ryan poetically waxed but Ray loved the dips and valleys of his boyfriend’s body and how they tried to contour to his own. Sparks shot between his thighs and he rolled his hips against Ryan’s, sighing when he felt the Alpha’s tell-tale bulge rub against his inner thigh. 

 

Ryan laid down and took his mate with him, unwilling to break their kiss for even a few moments. It had taken so long to get here that every kiss was drawn out, tongues twining so smooth it was like a dance. Every cliche came to mind but Ray didn’t care. He straddled Ryan properly and cupped the man’s jaw in the same tender way that had been done to him. Ryan was such a big cat sometimes, that low rumble more like a purr. Big hands cupped Ray’s hips and he reluctantly parted the kiss, breaths puffing over damp lips as they looked at one another.

 

“Come here,” Ryan drawled, squeezing his hips. 

 

“Come where?” Ray teased, thumbnail dragging through golden stubble.

 

“I want another taste,” Ryan hummed encouragingly. He brushed their lips and savored the way his mate shivered. He could smell the heat and arousal pouring off the Omega and he wanted to drink it up. Ray’s little frown of confusion was wiped away in another kiss and he went with the flow, following the guide of his mate’s hands. 

 

Ray started to get turned around, Ryan’s grip swiveling him in a one-eighty. “Whoa, hey!”

 

“Straddle me,” Ryan ordered simply, leaving no room for argument. 

 

“Like  _ this _ ?” Ray gestured between them.

 

Ryan gave him a playful smack to the ass. “Just do it.”

 

Ray wanted to tell him how stupid it was but he was needy and they both knew it. He carefully turned and straddled Ryan’s chest, folding his knees on the mattress on either side. He was a little anxious he was going to fuck up but his cock was still rock hard. He splayed his hands over his Alpha’s hips and admired the line of denim just an inch below his fingertips. He loved how those stone washed jeans clung to his waist and ripped up around his knees to show off glimpses of skin. There was a threadbare patch on his thigh and he wanted to dig his Omega fangs into it, rip it open and suck a hickey into his flesh.

 

Between the jeans and the tousled head of blonde hair, Ryan looked so adorably young.

 

The heat was still on a low simmer within him. It was going to take another day or two to shake completely but now, while lucid, he could admit he liked the pull toward his Alpha. Ryan’s hands laid over his ass and rubbed, nails scoring the skin to send sparks through his oversensitive skin. He jumped with every squeeze but in an oddly pleasant way.

 

“You’re so beautiful,” Ryan rumbled with a romantic air that made Ray blush. “I’m so lucky to have you, Ray, Jesus...you have no idea how much I’ve imagined this. I wish we’d talked about your heat before, I would’ve loved to take care of you. I hate seeing you craving something that I can give you, and having to hold back.”

 

Ray purred as the Alpha ran his hands up his back, fingertips blazing trails over the wings of his shoulder blades. He broke out in goosebumps and turned to puddy, melting under Ryan’s palms without an ounce of hesitation. Ryan easily dragged him backward, closer to the Alpha’s face. Ray was sure he was going to get teasing digits until he felt something wet right up against his hole.

 

“Ryan!” Ray yelped, startled as he jumped as much as his boyfriend’s grip would allow. A broad sweep of the Alpha’s tongue had his own jaw dropping, a hot blush spreading across his face as a mew escaped him. “Oh God.”

 

“Bet that feels good after all that fingering, huh?” Ryan’s breath tickled his hole and it made him twitch all over, a thick dollop of slick dripping out. He felt the Alpha’s thumb rub the slick across his rim and his hips rocked violently in shock.

 

“ _ Shit _ . A-Alpha, it’s…”

 

“You taste so fucking good,” Ryan growled to himself, hands sliding up so he could massage his thumb along each side of his mate’s hole. “I don’t know why you don’t let me do this more. I could spend forever down here.” Ryan licked him again to catch a fresh drop of slick and Ray shuddered. “You love it as much as I do.”

 

Ray chirped shyly and ducked his head.

 

Ryan rubbed over the Omega’s hole again and he chuckle lowly. “Well, maybe not as much as me, but close.”

 

Ryan couldn’t wait another moment, not with Ray making such delicate little sounds. He started to really lick, tongue dragging over the clinging rim. He loved the way it fluttered. His boy was shy all over. He wanted more, always more. He cupped Ray’s hips properly again and his fingers sunk in. He loved the Omega’s new softness, the give of his body and the rosiness to his skin. Ryan kept his boy close and licked deep, tongue firm as it curled inside. Ray’s slick was potent and it was making him dizzy. The taste stirred up a fresh hunger inside the Alpha and he started licking harder, holding his mate tight as he tried to squirm away.

 

Ray’s silent little  _ too  _ much movements gradually started to subside. His sounds changed, growing stronger as his hips started to really buck between Ryan’s hands. He pressed against the Alphas mouth with shameless grinds to get all he could. Ryan loved having his mate lose his inhibitions while out of the maddening haze of heat. He wanted the Omega to let go and feel  _ everything _ . He wanted Ray to use him as nothing more than his Alpha toy.

 

But that was a dark fantasy for another day.

 

Ray panted like a dog, mouth open wide in a perpetual moan as his body overheated. His nipples felt tingly and swollen from all the attention the past few days. They throbbed with his lustful, racing heart. He knew he should’ve been feeling even a little embarrassed by his wanton actions but he couldn’t - not when everything felt so fucking  _ good _ . He wanted to do this forever. How the hell were they ever going to get out of bed?

 

Faintly calloused hands curled around to scrape against his thighs and he tossed his head back, crying out weakly to the ceiling.

  
He didn’t know this was how it was supposed to be. How could he have? No one had ever been like Ryan, and no one would ever come close. Sex was more than getting fucked and dealing with a knot, more than inserting Rod A into Slot B. It was intimate, warm, it was something that could bring two people together in a physical way. It was being vulnerable to someone else, trusting them so much that you could bare your body to them no matter the insecurities. He’d hardly ever taken his shirt off in public two years ago and now he was naked and fucking himself on his Alpha’s  _ tongue _ . 

 

His heart swelled as he realized how grateful he was to share all this with Ryan, who loved him so deeply and treated him like a true treasure.

 

Laying there, tongue buried in his sweet Omega, Ryan was in Heaven. He knew he was being selfish in his own way by wrecking Ray to this point. He wanted to prove to Ray that he was loved, desired outside of heat, and he liked to deny his own pleasure to heighten his mate’s own. He was throbbing inside his own jeans, knot pulsing as he drank down the hormone rich slick. He got off on wringing out every ounce of pleasure from Ray’s gorgeous body. His cock was pressed painfully against his zipper and lust boiled white hot low in his stomach. He wasn’t going to so much as unbutton before he saw through at least one overwhelming orgasm in his boy.

 

Ray clenched his eyes shut and tried to fight off the quickly rising pressure. He’d been so distracted he hadn’t even thought about returning the favor. He steeled himself, determined to give as good as he got, but even he could see the tremble in his own fingers as he reached for the zipper. Ryan had taken over like the sneaky, quick snake he was and he’d fallen into his trap. He pawed at the clasp, at the thick swell of the Alpha’s thighs, but his fingers were useless. The pressure was building and his hips humped so shamelessly against Ryan’s mouth though held nearly still by strong hands. 

 

Ray wanted so badly to get Ryan off but he couldn’t think straight. His own cock was twitching and leaking and Ryan kept  _ licking  _ with insistent curls of his tongue. His mind was racing, thoughts swirling all down the drain until there was a blissful white out. He felt like he was falling but he braced himself on Ryan’s thighs, finger scratching on the denim. He wasn’t moving but  _ coming _ . He’d gotten off so many times in the past few days so his seed was nearly translucent, watery as it striped Ryan’s stomach. He watched the Alpha’s belly flex from the warm contact and he chittered. Ryan’s grip tightened, fingers pinching into his hips as he moaned against his hole. Slick flowed across the Alpha’s tongue and he drank it all up.

 

“Ryan,” Ray moaned quietly, arms starting to shake. “Fucking shit, you…you…”

 

“I got you, sweetheart,” Ryan rumbled as he sat up and caught him around the waist. He helped ease Ray down off his chest and rolled him onto the bed. The Alpha’s palm guided his head to the pillow and he purred in gratitude. The pillow smelled just like them and he breathed in the mingling stony warmth and sweet vanilla, rubbing his cheek against it. 

 

Ryan looked over his sweet, blissed out Omega and felt an undeniable swell of affection. Ryan wanted to gather him up and keep him safe forever. He carefully covered Ray, bracing his elbow in the mattress and caging the boy in with just his form. Ray whined softly as he was blanketed in the warmth of his Alpha and he nosed at him blindly, seeking touch. Their lips met in a sugar sweet kiss and Ryan’s hand swept over the Omegas’s chest, thumb catching on his puffy nipples. He plucked at them just to hear Ray moan all sweet again and he wasn’t disappointed. 

 

Ryan curled a hand along Ray’s nape and the Omega purred for him, pushing up into him. Ryan licked at his mate’s pliant mouth and rubbed a palm down to cup his still-twitching hips. He sighed against Ray’s mouth and finally broke the kiss. Ray gave a frail whine of protest and grabbed onto his pocket, urging him to stay. 

 

Ryan chuckled softly and let go of the Ray’s nape to rub a thumb so tenderly along the boy’s, gaze heavy with affection as he looked down at his sleepy face. “God, I love you.”

 

It felt like something clicked between them. Both their stomachs twisted up in an oddly pleasant way and Ray’s eyes glistened with a sudden swell of tears. A hot, emotional rush flushed through them and they swallowed thickly as the weight of the phrase hit them. It had never been said out loud before so directly. Neither of them were the kind of person to say it easily and even after all this time - the long courtship, the dating,  _ Dan _ , calling each other ‘mate’ with true conviction - this was another milestone.

 

“I...I love you too,” Ray breathed out, and it was true. He loved the man above him. The man who had shown him understanding and kindness when he was so lost. The Alpha who never once took advantage of him or made him feel weak because of his status. Ryan had always treated him with care but as an equal. Ryan had been the one to help him get comfortable in his status and in his own skin, who’d encouraged him to bond with his Lads and explore his interests. All the things he’d done with Ryan,  _ for  _ Ryan, had made him a better person. So many experiences, so many new feelings...he was spoiled for anyone else.

 

Just looking at Ryan’s face, he could tell the Alpha was thinking the same thing. He swore he could see little hearts and sparkles bubbling around behind Ryan as the man looked down at him with a lovestruck smile and rosy cheeks. 

 

“I didn’t mean to say it during your heat,” Ryan confessed, cupping his cheek and thumbing just below his eye. “But I mean it, Ray. I love you.”

 

Ray giggled and the sound was so high pitched he covered his mouth in embarrassment. “You’ve got all the big gay love feelings?”

 

“I wouldn’t lie about my big gay love feelings, Raymond.” Ryan schooled his expression into something very serious and it only made the Omega giggle again. Ryan’s mask broke in seconds and he laughed with him, dipping down and rubbing their noses together. Ray chittered and he rumbled in reply, lips bussing chastely.

 

“You’re lucky, Mr. Haywood.”

 

“And why is that, Mr. Narvaez?”

 

“Because I’m gay as fuck for you too.”

 

o0o

 

Ryan ran his Omega a shower and pulled him into it with a convincing kiss. Ray whined about wanting to stay in bed but the hot water felt like heaven on his sore body. Ray leaned into his mate and let him do all the work, simply enjoying the feeling of the Alpha’s hands on him. He felt so gritty and filthy with slick and sweat.

 

He heard a cap click and immediately thought of lube but the smell that hit his nose was herbal. He lifted his head from Ryan’s shoulder and saw the Alpha pouring a heavy pile of cream soap in his palm. It smelled damn good. “What’s that?”

 

“It’s After Heat wash,” Ryan explained as he lathered up his hands with it. “It’s got lots of great things in it. Aloe, chamomile, a whole bunch of natural anti-inflammatories to soothe all those scratches - sorry - and any bruising.”

 

“Trust me, I loved every minute,” Ray promised, cooing as the Alpha started to rub him down. The slide of his hands was pure ecstasy and he melted into Ryan, clinging to his waist to keep standing. “ _ Damn _ .”

 

“It has a lot of melatonin in it too, sweetheart,” Ryan crooned, massaging the wash into his mate’s nape and up into his hair. “You’re going to sleep so well after this.”

 

Ray felt how easy the man’s palms glided over his skin and he hummed. “And be soft.”

 

Ryan pressed a kiss to his temple. “Silky soft.”

 

“Thank you,” he slurred, mouthing at the Alpha’s shoulder. “You’re good to me.”

 

“I like being good to you,” Ryan rumbled, rubbing soapy hands down the Omega’s shoulders. “I want to spoil you rotten.”

 

“You’re doing great,” Ray chuckled, lightly nibbling on the wet skin. “Keep it up. Gold star sticker for you.”

 

Ryan smiled fondly and massaging his fingers into the small of the boy’s back. “Oh baby, you’re exhausted. I can hear it in your voice. Don’t worry. This stuff will help get rid of any heat symptoms so you should be able to sleep the rest of it off. I’ll have a feast waiting for you when you wake up.”

 

“Fuck,” Ray whined in relief, hugging his waist. “You’re amazing.”

 

Ryan proved that statement true even after the shower was turned off. Ray let the Alpha towel him down and basked in the spoiling. His limbs were getting heavier by the second and his mind was all muddled. It was different from before, this time it was a pleasant tiredness. He was toweled off and given a flurry of kisses that made him smile and bat at his Alpha. 

 

“Give me a second to change the sheets.”

 

Ray waited patiently as the Alpha fixed up their nest. He rubbed his eyes and yawned, wobbling on his feet. Ryan guided him to the bed and collapsed on it face first, groaning.

 

“Tired,” Ray huffed into the clean sheets, barely able to move his head to the side to keep from smothering. “Good though.”

 

Ryan sat beside him and rubbed a hand down his Omega’s back, crooning down at him. “Get some sleep. You deserve it.”

 

Ray blindly reached out, slapping the bed until he found Ryan’s other hand. He dragged it toward him and pressed a kiss to his knuckles.

 

“I love you,” Ray whispered fondly like the words were a beloved secret, eyes too heavy to open.

 

Ryan leaned down and nuzzled into the Omega’s hair, hiding his bright smile. “I love you too.”

 

o0o0o0o

 

Everyone knew why Ray was gone and he half expected Barbara to throw him an embarrassing party. Instead was he was pleasantly surprised by all the gifts, with cards and anonymous, that were left piled up on his desk. Fruit baskets, a broad variety of candies, games, some nerd plushes, a brand new headset, a couple shirts with knot and slick puns, lubes, a strange headband with bunny ears, and even socks. He picked through the gifts with a dropped jaw, cheeks warming as he realized how much his friends cared about him. They hadn’t flooded him with texts but instead gave him the space he needed, and this display showed how much they cared. It made his chest tight in a good way and if his eyes glistened it was only because of hormones.  

 

“That headset is from me, asshole.”

 

Ray beamed as his Lads came into the office, twin grins on their faces as they barrelled toward him. He accepted them with open arms, nearly falling over as they collided with him. He was surrounded with their flower, sweet, mated scent and their hands roamed all over him as if to check if he was okay. He chittered as they nuzzled on him, two pairs of lips pecking chaste kisses over his face and hair. He scented them back as best he could but they were all over him, squeezing him between their insistent bodies.

 

“I missed you guys too,” Ray laughed, ruffling both their hair. Gavin licked over his cheek and he made a face. “Gav!”

 

“You still taste like a bit of heat, love,” Gavin stated, rubbing his nose on the damp spot he’d left behind. “And tons like Ryan!”

 

“So how did it go?” MIchael asked when he pulled back, looking him over. “You’re in one piece at least. And you smell taken care of.”

 

“Ryan seems like the kind of Alpha to  _ really  _ take care of you,” Gavin purred, giving his hip a squeeze. “You smell truly spoiled, X-Ray. Did Ryan treat you like a right prince?”

 

“Fuck that,” Michael scoffed, lips curving in a smirk. “Did he treat you like a good little bitch?”

 

“Guys!” Ray blushed, wanting to hide his face. “Christ, can’t anyone get a little privacy?”

 

“Hell no,” the couple chimed.

 

“Well,” Ray drew out, finally breaking into a bright smile. “He took care of me.  _ Really  _ took care of me.”

 

“So he knotted you up?” Gavin cooed.

 

“Nope.”

 

The baffled expressions made him laugh again.

 

“He was so fucking impressive, and hot,” Ray gushed, unable to hold back. “We did everything  _ but  _ knotting. We haven’t talked about going all the way yet so he just spent the whole week getting me off. Fuck, guys, I just...it was amazing.”

 

They looked skeptical so he he kept going, stuttering and blushing more as he described some of the things they’d done. Gavin got adorably flustered but Michael just burst into his trademark, cattish grin with dimples and all.

 

“So he ate you out and finger fucked you so good you forgot all about his knot?” Michael snickered, enjoying his Lad’s embarrassment. Ray nodded shyly and the older Omega cackled in delight. “Oh man, that shit’s  _ priceless _ . I’m happy for you guys, seriously, it’s just funny thinking of Ryan with blue balls while you give him  _ fuck me _ eyes.”

 

“I think it’s romantic,” Gavin tittered happily, smacking a kiss to Ray’s red cheek. “Ryan really did take care of you, then. You smell so loved, X-Ray, and I can see it all over your face. I’m glad it all went well. We were worried but Geoff said to shut up.”

 

A hand slid over his ass and  _ squeezed _ , making Ray jump and glare at a grinning Michael. “I heard you almost got Gavin to fuck you.”

 

The Brit flustered and sputtered. “What? Michael, no! It wasn’t like that!”

 

“I remember bits and pieces of that,” Ray admitted, wincing. “I’m sorry about that, Michael. He just smelled really good and all those jokes about wanting to be a fuckhole are kind of true for some parts.”

 

“I thought it was hot,” Michael promised, eyes roaming in a lewd drag over the younger Omega’s body. “You’re lucky it wasn’t me. Ryan wouldn’t have been fast enough to stop me from at least giving you a hot blowie. I don’t know how Gavin held back. Just the way you smell now, mated and content, is God damn tempting.”

 

Gavin smacked Michael’s hand off the blushing Lad and Michael pouted. “Gavvy!”

 

“Michael, that’s no way to talk to our Ray,” Gavin huffed, dragging Ray so they pressed back to chest. He rubbed his cheek on Ray and the Lad cooed. “He’s just being a randy brat, love. We’re happy for you and Ryan, we’re proud of you two. Whenever you two decide to knot is all up to ou. We’re just glad you two are finally letting yourselves be in love.”

 

“Thanks Gavin,” Ray cooed, rubbing back and winking at Michael. The older Lad stopped pouting and laughed. “Ryan’s really proud of himself.”

 

“We can tell!” Michael barked, gesturing at the door. “Christ! He was strutting all over the place this morning. The way he’s wearing your scent - it’s like he bagged the most eligible Omega in the whole place and he wants everyone to know!” Michael flushed, hands waving in front of him. “Which he totally did, man. I just meant that he’s like a Goddamn peacock and he’s smug as fuck.”

 

“More like happy!” Gavin countered, patting Ray’s belly. “And why shouldn’t he be? He’s a good mate to our little X-Ray and they’re obviously, blindingly-”

 

“-disgustingly-”

 

“In love!”

 

“And I don’t care if anyone knows,” Ray added confidently, blanketing the hands on his stomach and giving them a squeeze. “Ryan’s the one for me, guys.”

 

They raised brows at him and he rolled his eyes.

 

“In a manner of speaking!” Ray corrected. “I know there’s not The One And Only True Love but I mean, Ryan feels  _ great _ . He feels natural. No one’s ever felt like this and I…”

 

“What?” Gavin prompted excitedly, wanting to hear.   
  


“I told him I love him. And he said it back. We, uh...we meant it. It’s real as hell, guys.”

 

There was stunned silence from the other Lads.

 

“Shit,” Michael breathed, old feelings bubbling up as he remembered waiting on Geoff to tell him he loved him. From the look in Gavin’s eyes, he was thinking along the same lines. They moved in sync, both wrapping Ray up in a hug and pressing their noses to his hair. Ray hugged them back as best they could, purring and scrubbing his cheek against each of them. 

 

“We’re really happy for you,” Michael assured once more, this time with a solemn weight that made the young Omega feel grateful. “You two are good for each other.”

 

“You can say that again, boy,” Gavin agreed, smiling to himself as he scented their Lad. “Many more happy heats to come, X-Ray. Don’t you worry.”

 

“I’m not, trust me.” Ray nuzzled Gavin’s face, getting the Brit to giggle. “I’ve got you boys, and Geoff.  _ Ryan _ . It’s all i need.” His voice dropped and he turned his head, tucking his face into Michael’s neck. “It’s all I ever wanted.”   
  


Michael scrubbed his cheek against him with a determined purr. “And we’re not going anywhere, Lad. Don’t you worry about  _ that  _ for one fucking second.”

  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> This is an out-of-sequence collection of Omegaverse chapters. Do NOT be thrown off by all the couples I tagged, most of them are brief or implied heavily or dreamed about. And the length. It's not hard.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [The Splotchy Face of Pleasure](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2008296) by [MXD](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MXD/pseuds/MXD)
  * [You're Alright--I Guess](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2069970) by [Snarkcasm](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snarkcasm/pseuds/Snarkcasm)
  * [SYNCING AUDIO ONE TWO THREE](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2106618) by [Strude](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Strude/pseuds/Strude)
  * [All They've Ever Wanted](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2114265) by [tugavin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tugavin/pseuds/tugavin)
  * [And Life is Wine](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2116083) by [Emono](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emono/pseuds/Emono)
  * [A Savage Energy](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2253312) by [wildfrancium](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wildfrancium/pseuds/wildfrancium)
  * [Why the Caged Bird Sings](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2388977) by [TerminallyCapricious](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TerminallyCapricious/pseuds/TerminallyCapricious)
  * [I write sins, Knot tragedies](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2649671) by [MaskedPlayer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaskedPlayer/pseuds/MaskedPlayer)
  * [Double Stuffed WAFFLE-O's](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2838863) by [MaskedPlayer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaskedPlayer/pseuds/MaskedPlayer)
  * [(When You Come) My Heart Will Be Waiting](https://archiveofourown.org/works/3707929) by [getouttaherevav](https://archiveofourown.org/users/getouttaherevav/pseuds/getouttaherevav)
  * [Night to Remember](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4809494) by [DainBramaged_AHbountyhunter](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DainBramaged_AHbountyhunter/pseuds/DainBramaged_AHbountyhunter)




End file.
